The Price of Ambition
by Uppity Bitch
Summary: In this AU Klaroline multi-chap, Caroline is the commander of an elite special forces unit. She receives a distress call from a highly classified research base and must lead her team on a rescue mission to save a group of scientists (including a particularly irritating know-it-all with dimples) after one of their experiments gets loose.
1. Chapter 1: Family Obligations

Author's note: New multi-chap Klaroline story! In this AU Klaroline multi-chap, Caroline is the commander of an elite special forces unit. She receives a distress call from a highly classified research base and must lead her team on a rescue mission to save a group of scientists (including a particularly irritating know-it-all with dimples) after one of their experiments gets loose.

Warning: Some violence

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Chapter 1: Family Obligations

 _See the blue mist on the mountain peak_. Caroline carefully controlled her breathing — in and out, in and out, smooth, even breaths that helped regulate her heartbeat as she remained hidden among the thick clumps of desert bunchgrass. The breathable camouflage fabric she wore did little to cool down her body as the relentless sun baked the sand dunes that towered over her crouched position. She heard the unmistakable rumble of the armored luxury SUV as it made its way out of the desert compound and she started applying just a whisper of pressure onto the trigger of her .300 Win Mag. The sniper rifle, celebrated for its superb accuracy, had been her constant companion on this latest mission to take out President Arcadius.

Under Arcadius' rule, this small African country had witnessed one of the worst genocides in modern history. Despite his outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, he had gone unpunished, and continued to travel throughout Africa, the Middle East and select European countries with impunity. Because of her own country's bureaucratic red tape and trade agreement hypocrisy, standard military actions were out of the question.

 _That was where Caroline came in_. As commander of an elite special forces unit known as Hunters, they were hired by various government officials as a "final solution" to the impossible diplomatic situations in which they often found themselves. Her team of four were already in place, ready to simultaneously disable the dictator's vehicle and take out his entourage while Caroline eliminated a modern-day monster with one clean shot.

An expert marksman, she had been recruited straight out of the U.S. Army Sniper School and her training had served her well as she led her team to countless victories as they toppled puppet states, serial killers the world never knew about, and corrupt CEOs whose flagrant exploitation of loopholes in child labor laws would sicken even the most jaded. Katherine, her captain and second-in-command, landed her mark flawlessly and blew out the engine block while the rest of her officers began efficiently shooting out the darkly tinted glass.

She took a measured breath as Arcadius' familiar scowl came into view. She employed her calming mantra she used before she made a kill: _See the blue mist on the mountain peak_. Blue eyes narrowed, the soft whoosh of the silencer was a comforting sound in the chaos happening around her. She felt a cold thrill of satisfaction as the brass-jacketed bullet pierced his forehead, exiting cleanly with the precision of a high-caliber round. _A cleaner death than you deserved, Arcadius_.

Once the dictator's caravan was eliminated, Caroline's earpiece crackled to life as each of her team members checked in with their codenames used during all clandestine missions:

"Tomb Dodger, all clear."

"Lab Rat, clear."

"Spell Slinger, clear."

"Mischief Maker, clear."

A small smile stretched across Caroline's face as she signed off with, "Fearless, all clear." Shaking off the carefully placed grains of sand that helped her blend in with the dunes, she shouldered her rifle and started the trek to the ruined SUV 700 meters away. Conscious of the sun's intense rays and her dwindling water supply, she forced herself to take long, even strides through the desert scrub brush so that she wasn't expending more energy than necessary.

Once the engagement site was sanitized, the team would begin the journey back to their hidden transport and return to their base of operations in approximately six hours. She suspected her team was planning an epic victory celebration as this latest assignment lasted just under four weeks and everyone was ecstatic to see it end.

 _However, their plans were about to change_. Just as she reached the site to assist her officers with body disposal and cleanup, her phone vibrated. Normally while on mission, she went dark until her team had safely cleared the sector of engagement, but a quick glance showed her that it was a number she was incapable of ignoring — her brother, Stefan.

 _Especially since he'd failed to check in with her for more than a month_. A renowned geneticist, he currently headed a team of scientists doing cutting-edge research in a remote facility run by the Augustine Corporation. The site and its research was classified to the extent that even the employees' families were unaware of their involvement. Of course, Caroline and her team's security clearance circumvented such restrictions; which is why she was well-aware of Stefan's unique employment.

She had told herself she would give her brother one more week before she broke protocol and used her vast intelligence resources to ascertain why Stefan had been conspicuously out of touch. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as she answered with a teasing voice, "You'd better have a good excuse for the radio silence, Stefan. Did that innocent little lab assistant of yours finally succumb to your ridiculous pickup line about science giving you a hadron?"

Instead of her brother's sarcastic reply, a shrieking alarm greeted her, so loud that she had to pull out her earpiece to escape the deafening noise. Narrowing her blue eyes as she registered the significance of the sound, she said sharply, "Stefan — do you copy? What is your position?"

"Caroline," he gasped, breathless, "You have to help me...us!" Heavy footsteps followed by a cacophony of glass breaking and multiple people cursing and screaming muffled his next few words. "...got loose...Don't...they escaped. And they're hunting us..." The rest of his words were cut off by a loud crash that seemingly severed the line.

Panic blooming in her chest, she couldn't help her knee-jerk reaction as she uselessly shouted, "Stefan! I'm on my way!"

Unused to Caroline sounding distressed, her four team members' heads snapped up in unison, instinctively scouring the desolate area for hostile activity. Seeing that the perimeter was still secure, Kol stepped forward, concern marring his boyish features as he bluntly stated, "So, there's trouble at the Augustine lab. Is my brother still alive?"

Exchanging grim looks with the rest of her team, Caroline answered stoically, "Let's go find out."


	2. Chapter 2: Protecting Her Own

Author's note: Thank you for the support you're already showing me so early in my story! To answer a guest's question, I'm unsure of the number of chapters at this point, but I'm assuming around 10 chapters or so, depending on how the story develops.

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The pleasant hum of the sleek Gulfstream failed to lull Caroline to sleep despite the majority of her team wisely taking advantage of the extensive flight to rest before having to face the aftermath of the attack at the Augustine lab. _Vector series submachine guns_. _CornerShot anti-counterattack rifles. SIG P226 service pistols. Tactical and incendiary grenades._ She tiredly rubbed her temples as she kept repeating the entire arsenal she and her team had pulled from their hidden weapons cache in a tiny fishing village along the Cape South coast. They prudently had hidden arsenals throughout the world, but South Africa's hideout had been the closest to the remote archipelago where Stefan's lab was located.

 _Which was still another 1700 miles_. Her baby brother was still far beyond her reach and she had never felt so powerless in her life. _Not even when her mother's death turned her world upside down at 18._ Faced with raising her younger brothers, Stefan and Damon, she tossed out her carefully constructed plans for the future and immediately embraced a new way of life to ensure she could hold together her family.

She signed up for the National Guard so that she could draw a steady (if somewhat meager) paycheck that kept them afloat and allowed her to still be around to take care of her brothers. She knew her brothers were depending on her, and that motivated her to push harder than she thought possible so that she excelled at combat training and was recruited for HALO (free fall) training and then sniper school which opened up further career advancement for her. Once her brothers graduated high school, she was able to head the Hunters elite unit.

Caroline reclined in the soft gray leather seat, wishing she could go back and advise her younger self on how to better handle juggling the roles of sister and pseudo-mother with that of combat trainee. She'd made so many mistakes during the early years while raising her brothers, deciding to apply the discipline she learned in the military to running their household.

She allowed herself to be consumed by her training, mostly to avoid dealing with her own feelings of loss and anger, terrified that her brothers would realize she was just a scared kid too. While Stefan seemed to thrive under her iron-fisted method of ruling, Damon fought her every step of the way. At first, his bad behavior was limited to acting out at home or in class, but before long, he'd fallen in with a rough crowd and started shoplifting to score drugs.

Despite her best efforts, Damon drifted away from their family and she couldn't save him from himself. Even though her brother refused her help, she worked out a deal with one of his less-sleazy friends and paid his share of rent and utilities every month, forcing him to swear that he wouldn't let Damon know she was the reason he wasn't homeless.

 _And then Stefan called her a year ago._ She'll never forget how broken he sounded when he told her that Damon had died of a drug overdose. She'd been on assignment in some remote, treacherous jungle taking on heavy guerilla fire with her team when it had happened; she hadn't been able to make it out in time for the funeral.

 _She had to get to Stefan. She refused to lose the only family she had left._ One of her officers, Kol, interrupted her dark thoughts when he made his way out of a sleeper cabin to plop gracelessly on a bench seat across from her. His boyish face often bore an impish grin and he clearly wore his code name, _mischief maker_ , as a badge of honor. "Commander," he addressed her with a small quaver in his voice, slinging one arm across his eyes as he grimaced.

Nodding at him, she said sympathetically, "The turbulence will pass soon. Bonnie has flown us through far worse conditions."

Groaning, he mumbled petulantly, "She flew us through a bloody hurricane last fall! And I don't care what she says — you know damn well she did it just to spite Enzo because he told her she couldn't."

"It was just the outer bands of the hurricane," she corrected him with a shrug, "It's not like anyone dared her to take us through the eye."

He snorted, "Only because you conveniently distracted Katherine with a weapons inventory. Loony bird never met a dare she wouldn't give. Or try. Remember that tomb in Indonesia?"

"It ended up being a close call," Caroline acknowledged, "but you have to admit that the way she managed to avoid that giant pit in the center of the cave tomb and still captured the target was impressive."

Shrugging, Kol answered, "Fine. But it still wasn't as impressive as when I plowed through the Ubud Monkey Forest just in time for her to stuff the deposed general in the back of the Jeep I sort of borrowed from the rebels." He squinted at her, his face suddenly serious as he changed the subject. "What are we walking into? Will we even get there in time?"

"That's not what you're really asking me," she murmured, staring out the window at the impossibly blue skies. It felt wrong that the world could hold so much beauty when her own world could possibly be ending.

"No?"

"No. You're asking if I think we're already too late," she said quietly, keeping her tone even despite the pain she felt every time she realized her brother could've been killed the moment his phone cut off. At Kol's silence, she continued, "I've been going over what I heard on the call and I honestly don't know. We can assume multiple hostiles hunting and attacking a small group of unarmed civilians in an underground facility full of narrow passageways with zero cover." Taking a breath, she added, "We should prepare for...causalities, Kol."

He sat up suddenly, his brown eyes hard. " _Prepare?_ My whole childhood prepared me for casualties. Me and my siblings lived in constant terror in the house of that sadistic bastard who had the nerve to call himself our father. Nik got the worst of it, always purposely getting in the way of our father's fists to try to shield the rest of us." Mouth pulled into a grim smile, he told her, "Bloody IQ of 180. He even delayed going to college until he could get one of our aunts to take in our younger brother and sister just to make sure none of us were left behind with our father. My brother, the smartest bloody idiot in the world."

"Your brother was your protector," Caroline observed. "I was my brothers' protector. Or at least I was supposed to be," she amended. "Stefan was always easy; he was scary smart like your brother apparently, and he occupied himself with school. But Damon...Damon was another story altogether. Our dad ran out on us when I was 13 and then our mother died five years later. Shit, I was still a scared kid trying to take care of two more scared kids. Damon needed more attention than I could give him. He disappeared into drugs and all the trouble that goes with it. Died of an overdose."

Not wanting to acknowledge the small noise of commiseration Kol made because it would only make her break down, she instead focused on her anger. Fists clenched, she swore, "If Stefan dies, everyone who had a hand in it dies."

They both lapsed into an uneasy silence, each staring out the windows at the gray and white ribbons of clouds they passed. It reminded her of the thin layers of clouds that covered Mount Lykaion in Greece. She had convinced Stefan to go hiking there before she started HALO training. They'd both been fascinated by the region, the location of one of the earliest werewolf legends. King Lykaon had a score to settle with Zeus and tricked him into eating human flesh. Zeus retaliated by turning the king into a wolf, thus beginning the superstition of werewolves in the region.

When they'd neared the mountaintop, she'd taken in the breathtaking views of limestone and marble interspersed with the dark blue petals of the wild lupines and felt immeasurable joy at being able to enjoy such tranquil beauty with her brother. They were enchanted by the way the mist wound its way through the flowers, turning the mountain peak blue, and she even fashioned her phrase to keep focused on missions after that perfect moment: _See the blue mist on the mountain peak_.

The plane began its quiet descent, the change in altitude making their ears pop. It would be another 15 minutes before Katherine and Enzo needed to be woken up, so she resettled in her chair with a worried frown. Glancing over at Kol, who continued to blankly stare at the sky, she asked, "You and Klaus are still close?"

Turning from the window, Kol answered wryly, "As close as two brothers can be who have to lie about their occupations because of security clearance. Not that it matters much — the family hasn't all gotten together in years. We met up for a weekend two years ago after our team cleaned up that little skirmish in Argentina. We trade emails sometimes, but that's it." His voice more serious than she'd ever heard before, he told her, "I refuse to let that be the last time we see each other."

His voice suddenly tight, he abruptly left to go wake up Katherine and Enzo, but not before Caroline caught the gleam of moisture in his eyes. Resting her forehead against the cool glass of the window, she closed her eyes, hating that she couldn't shake the feeling that they were on a recovery mission, not a rescue.

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Traipsing across the rocky landscape of one of the isolated islands of Tristan de Cunha, Caroline and her team moved silently, constantly surveying their environment for any sign of danger. The small ping of the satellite GPS tracker alerted them to the location of the underground research facility. Crouching down, Enzo brushed aside a thin layer of dirt, exposing a thick metal cover. Studying the material closely, he quietly asked Caroline, "Cutting torch or tactical explosives?"

Thinking carefully, she replied, "Plasma cutter to start. Only resort to explosives if it's absolutely necessary. No reason to announce our position just yet." While Enzo and Katherine began working on the hatch, the rest of the team backed away to set up a protective perimeter. Caroline watched the palm-dotted horizon, an albatross floating on the wind currents with a lazy caw. Standard lab protocol during an emergency would entail a quarantine lockdown, which meant the elevators would no longer be working to take them the two miles underground. With a sigh, she realized that they'd have to rappel most of the way.

Moving with the quiet precision and efficiency that was her team's trademark, the facility's outer level was breached and everyone used their emergency descent kits to slide down the open shaft. Other than the red emergency lights stationed at every 100 feet, they operated in the dark, not wanting to risk giving away their position with safety flares. The team worked almost silently, their immense training allowed them to move with an effortless fluidity as they secured anchor points at strategic areas along the concrete and steel beams.

Caroline let out a small sigh of relief as the rubber soles of her boots touched the concrete floor of the top level of the facility. Speaking quietly, she instructed her team, "There are five levels and 10 to 12 rooms per floor. We're splitting into two teams to do a thorough sweep of each floor. Priority one is securing civilians. Eliminate hostiles on sight." Everyone gave a brief nod and Katherine, Bonnie and Enzo disappeared down a steel staircase, leaving Caroline and Kol to explore the first level.

They carefully stepped around the jagged glass shards on the floor, the red glow from their shining surface twinkling sinisterly. Several metal work tables were overturned, splatters of blood smeared along the edges. Caroline set her jaw, her blue eyes cold and calculating as she observed the dented, twisted metal of what appeared to be a reinforced lab door barely hanging on its hinges. _What the hell happened here?_ A loud thud echoed down a corridor, and both of them snapped to attention as they readied their firearms.

Moving swiftly down the dim hallway, they paused outside what appeared to be a small corner office, catching part of a loud argument. An accented voice growled, "...fucking idiot! This is all your bloody fault because you strutted about the goddamn lab like you were God! You only saw them as nothing but animals and now we're all paying the price!"

As she noticed the tense lines of Kol's shoulders relax, she realized that it must be his brother Klaus that was speaking. Her own relief was complete when she heard Stefan's familiar, cocky tone respond with, "You don't get to blame me when it was your completely irresponsible and misinformed hypothesis about their neural pathways that led to this fucking mess!"

Nodding at each other, Caroline and Kol forced the door open with well-placed kicks near the locking mechanism. Several flashlights shakily swept over them, allowing Caroline to register a small group of civilians huddled together on one side of the office while Stefan faced off with an attractive, curly-headed man who pulled back and neatly landed a powerful right jab.

As Stefan howled, cupping his right eye, Kol elbowed Caroline and murmured proudly, "I taught Klaus that, you know."

Klaus looked over his shoulder and yelled in surprise, "Kol! How the bloody hell did you get in here?" Not bothering to wait for an answer, he asked Caroline harshly, "And who the bloody hell are you?"

Leveling the barrel of her submachine gun at his chest, she told him with a wry smile, "I'm the commander of the special ops team here to rescue you. And that's my brother you just punched, you ungrateful asshat."


	3. Chapter 3: Reality Shifts

Author's note: Thanks for reviewing! So far, everyone seems on board with where we're heading; I'm excited to see what you think about this latest chapter!

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There is a moment that happens, when adrenaline is coursing through your body and the uncertainty of survival leaves you momentarily vulnerable, where every emotion and thought running through your mind is displayed if one knows where to look. Caroline watched Klaus' handsome face with interest, detecting the way he clenched his strong jaw in anger from his recent fight with Stefan. His steel gray eyes had grown wide with fear when he registered that his baby brother had put himself in danger. Regardless of his infuriating attitude, he clearly cared about Kol, and therefore she would make an effort to try not to shoot off his little toe in the course of rescuing his condescending ass. _Probably._

Surprised and somewhat chagrined by her outburst, Klaus seemed to struggle with an appropriate response as he eyed Caroline and Kol's weapons warily. "I sincerely hope that's not your entire arsenal. Those bloody things will bat them away like they're nothing more than water pistols."

She felt her temper flare, but she refused to compromise the safety of her brother and these civilians as well as her team to put this asshat in his place. "As _commander_ , I will reevaluate tactical supplies with my officers once the threat has been assessed." She briefly allowed herself to enjoy the irritation that flashed in Klaus' eyes at Kol's amused snort.

Turning to Stefan, she asked, "What is the exact nature of the threat? How many hostiles are we dealing with?"

Stefan frowned, fussing with his dark brown locks in a guilty manner that immediately reminded Caroline of when he was in middle school and she'd caught him sabotaging another kid's science fair project by replacing pepper plant seeds with marijuana seeds. "The...hostiles are...exotic animals that were brought to this research facility for scientific inquiry."

Klaus scoffed, "They aren't just animals, you bloody git! I warned you, hell, most of your team warned you," he snarled, gesturing at the group huddled in one corner on the floor, "they possess _human_ -level intelligence."

Caroline glanced at the group in the corner, noting the way they all involuntarily shivered at Klaus' words, but still maintained their shell-shocked, glassy-eyed stares. _Who knew a bunch of lab monkeys could cause this level of trauma?_

"Bloody hell, all this fuss over a few Curious Georges," Kol wondered aloud, clearly observing the worrying way the group of scientists seemed completely disassociated from their surroundings. "Surely you have a stockpile of yellow hats we can wear while flushing out the hairy little ankle biters."

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Stefan explained, "They're not primates. They're, uh...werewolves, actually. Two of them."

Dumbfounded, Caroline blinked several times as she tried to come to terms with her brother's baffling words. "Werewolves," she said slowly, doing her best to maintain a matter-of-fact tone as she reminded herself that she was in the field and that lives were dependent upon her ability to keep her shit together. She noticed Kol's eyebrows had nearly crawled all the way up to his hairline and he kept looking around the room as though waiting for someone to explain the joke to him.

"Yes, werewolves," Klaus bit out, glaring at Stefan. "Your gormless brother apparently went chasing after some legend, wasting countless facility resources on his quest to play God."

"And I was right," Stefan retorted, crossing his arms in front of him, muttering under his breath, "And I'm not the only one with a God complex around here, Professor 'Let's Skip To The Human Clinical Trials For My New Gene Therapy Drug'."

She could see Klaus gearing up to argue, and, given the way the steel in his gray eyes glinted, was likely going to punch Stefan again. Holding up her hand, she quickly said, "Stefan, what the hell is he talking about? What legend?"

Stefan awkwardly rubbed the side of his face, grimacing as he accidentally brushed too close to where Klaus had hit him. He looked like he'd have one hell of a shiner, and while she was pissed at Klaus, she couldn't help but admire the technique that Kol was bragging about. Stefan explained sheepishly, "The Mount Lykaion myth. One of our military contracts tasked us with building a superior soldier and I thought it would be easier to start with DNA of a creature that already had superior strength and endurance, so, on a whim, I sent several recon teams out to Arcadia to see what they could find."

 _The Greek mountain she and Stefan climbed? The place that inspired her calming mantra 'see the blue mist on the mountain peak' also had inspired Stefan to go looking for werewolves._ Unbelievable _._ "Your logical solution to solving a work problem was _werewolves_ ," she asked incredulously, "that seemed reasonable to you?!" Rolling her eyes, she couldn't help but add, "This is just like that Kate Beckinsale movie obsession you had in high school. You better not have her stuffed in that stupid black latex suit somewhere around here. That's a deal breaker, Stefan."

As the tips of her brother's ears turned red while Klaus and Kol failed to fully contain their chuckles, she realized her innate need to be the overbearing big sister was getting their mission off-track. Clearing her throat, she resumed her commander persona and asked, "How many civilians are left and what are their injuries?"

"There's the five of us in here and only some superficial lacerations and bruises. Three were killed when the werewolves first escaped," Stefan told her, glancing over at what remained of his coworkers.

Klaus wearily added, "Matt and Alaric got separated from the rest of our group during the mad dash after the emergency lockdown protocols were initiated. I saw Matt get knocked about when one of the werewolves took a swipe at him, but I wasn't able to see the extent of his injuries."

She and Kol exchanged a look, and after she nodded, Kol tapped his earpiece, broadcasting, "Mischief Maker, online. Fearless and I located five civilians barricaded in Northeast corner office on first floor. Superficial injuries only."

Katherine's normally tenacious voice had a nervous edge as she answered, "Tomb Dodger, online. In third floor control room with Lab Rat, Spell Slinger and two civilians. One seriously injured with broken arm, deep puncture wounds and severe blood loss."

"That must be Matt," Klaus interrupted, stepping forward, "I need to get to him — I was in med school before I switched to biomedical engineering and genetics."

Reaching a decision, Caroline announced over the earpiece, "Fearless, online. Understood, Tomb Dodger. Keep your group together and I'm heading your way with medical help." Addressing those gathered before her, she asked, "What can you tell me about the creatures' weaknesses? Light sensitivity, poor peripheral vision — anything like that we can use to fight them?"

While Klaus and Stefan seemed to consider her question carefully, one of the huddled scientists seemed to break out of her stupor to regard Caroline with terrified brown eyes, her high-pitched voice testing Caroline's patience as she shrieked, "They don't have any weaknesses! They're monsters and they killed our friends and now they're hunting us and they'll find us and kill us and we're dead! We're all dead!" She burst into tears, racing toward Stefan where she threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Caroline raised an eyebrow when she heard her brother murmur gently, "It's ok, Elena, everything will be ok. I'll protect you." _So, this was the innocent little lab assistant that Stefan had mentioned before._ Not a huge surprise that her cocky brother would gravitate toward the simpering fangirl-type. With the way she was staring up at Stefan with her watery, adoring eyes, Caroline figured she was almost ready to tattoo Stefan's Bunsen burner on her ass.

Klaus fortunately interrupted her sarcastic thoughts, telling her, "While we could do without Elena's hysterics, she's not entirely incorrect; we've yet to fully map their DNA structure. If I could just get to my research, I may be able to help you find a way to put them down for good."

"Ok, then," she nodded, turning to Kol as she commanded, "Klaus and I will rendezvous with Katherine's group where Klaus will provide medical aid. Then, we will proceed to his research to determine how we can take out the werewolves. In the meantime, you will stay here with this group and examine facility schematics with Stefan to determine an exit strategy."

Kol nodded his agreement, stepping off to the side to speak in a hushed tone to his brother. Caroline pulled Stefan away from his starry-eyed fan club, wrapping him up in the fiercest hug she could muster. Blinking away her sudden tears, she whispered, "It's good to see you, baby brother. Maybe next time we have a less crazy reason to hang out, huh?"

His voice was muffled in her thick blonde plait, but it seemed like he was choking back emotion as well. "You're here. I couldn't let myself believe that you'd get here in time. But of course you did — you're my big sister and there's nothing you can't do."

She sniffed, stepping out of their embrace to elbow him in the ribs as she replied, "Except teach you how to block a punch, apparently." At his good-natured chuckle, she resisted the urge to close her eyes and pretend they were anywhere but here, somewhere safe and happy and warm where she didn't have to consider the possibility that her brother might die.

Caroline caught Kol's eye and told him solemnly, "You take care of my brother."

Kol's voice carried a hint of steel as he replied, "Likewise."

Squaring her shoulders, feeling the familiar, nervous energy that always appeared before she started an operation, she handed an uncertain Klaus her SIG service pistol. _And hoped like hell he was up for this reckless mission._


	4. Chapter 4: Hasty Lessons

Author's note: Thank you for continuing to support my story! We're finally at some Klaroline scenes!

In other news, I expanded a one-shot from A Beautiful Symmetry, _The Blonde Witch Project_. The new stuff starts on chapter 2!

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Caroline once watched Enzo glue his toenail back on with the yellow pus from a giraffe weevil when they were on a mission in Madagascar. _And it still wasn't as gross as watching Klaus gleefully use the edge of his blood-splattered button-down to swipe at a gooey puddle of what appeared to be werewolf slobber._ His gray eyes lit up with excitement as he murmured that he'd been too preoccupied with neurological tests to begin enzyme work. As she took in his blood-splattered button-down, she came to the uncomfortable realization that the gruesome stains couldn't detract from the way the deep blue softened the steel gray in his gaze. _Not to mention the way his rolled-up sleeves revealed surprisingly powerful-looking forearms._

Shaking her head to clear it of those distracting thoughts, she pulled him into a small room nearby, keeping her voice low and calm to avoid unwanted attention from the prowling werewolves. "Have you ever fired a gun," she asked, her eyes flicking briefly to her service pistol awkwardly grasped in his hand.

"Well, I've never hunted werewolves, if that's what you're asking, love," Klaus snapped, adding, "but it doesn't seem as though you have, either."

 _They did not have time for his shit_. "No, but I made a promise to your brother that I'd protect you, and that's what I'm trying to do. Now, if you're as smart as he says you are, you'll realize that the first rule of survival is to use whatever tools you have to stay alive." She grabbed her pistol from him and hissed, "This is a tool. And the tips I give you on how to use it just might keep you alive long enough to be someone else's pain in the ass."

His expression cleared at her words, and while his lips seemed to twitch at the corners, he nodded once and said quietly, "I understand."

"I keep my SIG cleaned and it's been broken in so there aren't any lock back issues, but make sure your thumb doesn't brush against the slide catch lever," Caroline instructed, pointing out the mechanism before carefully molding his hand around the grip. "A weak hold, also known as 'limp wristing' can result in recoil or jammed ammunition in some cases, so always keep your grip steady and strong."

He eyed the gun dubiously but nodded at her instructions. His lips curved into a smirk as he teased, "I can assure you, sweetheart, no one has ever complained about the _steadiness_ of my grip."

Rolling her eyes, she dropped her hands from his and stepped away, flicking the tip of her long braid off of her shoulder as she retorted, "So they only complain about your strength, then?" She relished the way his jaw tightened at her mocking tone, but tried to school her features into something more benign as she busied herself testing the magazine release on her submachine gun.

"And how do you manage to avoid recoil on that canon, then," Klaus asked defensively, pointing at the submachine gun in her grip.

"Experience," Caroline answered bluntly, slinging the weapon's canvas strap over her shoulder once more. She thought back to that mission in Kazakhstan when her team had been sent in to remove the corrupt minister from power. "Although even after years of training and field hours clocked, I still managed to screw up a mission when my gun recoiled and I accidentally shot off a cathedral spire." She laughed softly, recalling the astonished look on her team's faces when they realized what she'd done. "Kol actually had to step in and save the mission. Without his quick thinking, we would've failed."

A look of surprise flashed across his handsome face. He seemed somewhat hesitant as he asked, "My brother...he doesn't talk about your work very much. Is there anything you can share?"

"For security clearance reasons, there's not much I can tell you." She heard the concern in his voice, and was charmed by his obvious love for his brother. She thought back to all of the missions bathed in blood — the danger, the intense exhilaration that occasionally worried her...and wasn't sure of what she should say. "There's no denying a certain darkness to what we do, but Kol always does what is necessary and somehow manages to keep the shadows at bay. He's been an officer on my team as well as my friend for years and you can be proud of who your brother is."

He favored her with a small smile, tinged with a hint of sadness. "I've always been proud of Kol. It's supposed to be my job to protect my siblings, not the other way around."

She squeezed his hand, telling him gently, "Kol told me how you saved your siblings from your father. You're a brave man, Klaus." Leveling him with a serious gaze, she revealed, "And when he found out you were in trouble, he told me that he refused to allow the last time you saw each other to be that weekend so long ago. Family is important to all of us."

"Stefan talks about you quite a bit — not your work, obviously, but he told me about how you took care of him and Damon after your father left you and your mother died. Taking on so much responsibility at such a young age is very admirable. You saved your family. It's obvious how proud he is of your accomplishments," Klaus offered, his praise making her uncomfortably warm.

Caroline bowed her head, her voice unexpectedly ragged as she whispered, "I couldn't save all of my family. Damon...was lost to us and I wish I could've done more for him." She closed her eyes, unwelcome memories of a dark time flooding her mind.

 _She was absolutely furious. She marched across the weed-choked yard full of old tires and rusted car frames, glaring at the scrawny, stringy-haired man at the torn screen door. "No drop ins allowed. We're booked up, girlie," he grunted. He gave her a quick once over, scratching his pock-marked cheek as he said, "Unless you're lookin' to make some easy cash, then you've come to the right place."_

 _Caroline felt her gorge rise, unwillingly breathing in the fetid smells of unwashed bodies and cigarettes as she stepped closer to this 'madam' of a trashy brothel. She snapped her elbow out, catching him in the throat with a satisfying thump. "Damon Salvatore," she spat, hating the slight tremble in her voice. "He's here, isn't he?"_

 _"That's a need-to-know basis, bitch," he wheezed, doubled over in pain._

 _She saw red as she slammed her boot on top of his bare foot, gripping his throat tightly as she seethed before his terrified eyes, "I'm his sister, you little shit. And while I 'need to know,' you don't need to be here at all. In fact, I can make it so you aren't anywhere ever again." She tossed him to the dirt littered with cigarette butts and stepped over his groaning form and into the dilapidated trailer._

 _Mötley Crüe was blasting through the cramped, smoke-filled space. She winced as she saw the naked bodies through an open doorway, writhing on a filthy mattress on the plywood floor. Realizing her brother wasn't among them, she moved quickly to the other side of the trailer to bang her fist on a closed bedroom door._

 _"Fuck off, man. Paid up through the afternoon," Damon's voice slurred through the door._

 _Caroline didn't bother responding. She kicked in the cheap wooden door and immediately felt a flare of anger surge through her body as she saw her pale, sweaty brother sprawled across a faded lawn chair with a ragged black shoelace still tied to his arm. She kicked aside the burned spoons, needles, and empty baggies smeared with white residue to stand over him in disgust. "Get up," she snarled, tipping over the lounge chair until it dumped him on the dirty floor._

 _A low moan in the corner drew her attention and she whirled around to find a skeletal woman with scabs along most of her torso struggling to get up. Caroline found a wrinkled dress wadded under the radiator and tossed it at her, commanding, "Get out. Now."_

 _Once they were alone, she rooted around the filthy room until she finally found a pair of stained jeans and hurled them at her brother, breathing in the pungent smell of vinegar_ _— a telltale sign of cheap smack. "So, what's your dealer cutting your heroin with these days, Damon? Detergent? Rat poison? How many hookers are you sharing dirty needles with? Tell me," she demanded, spying the draining abscess in the crook of his arm._

 _"I didn't ask you to come here, Caroline," he mumbled, struggling to pull on his jeans. "Don't need you to save me. I save me. Been doin' it all my life."_

 _Caroline scoffed. "Seriously?! You can save yourself? You can't even find your shoes right now!" She watched him fall back into the sagging patio chair, his icy blue eyes glassy and unfocused._

 _"Don't have a choice...all by myself because I'm not perfect like stupid Stefan and his stupid brain," Damon slurred, seemingly fascinated by the flecks of blood and vomit on the splintered plywood floor._

 _Feeling a pang in her heart at his words, she knelt down beside him, her voice hitching as she swore, "Damon, you don't have to be perfect. Stefan's not perfect. You're both my baby brothers and I love you just the same. We're family." Sniffing back tears she confessed, "That's why it hurts us both so much when we know you're hurting yourself. You're my blood, Damon. And I'll always look after you. So, will you please just let me help?"_

 _He rubbed his sweaty forehead, asking her tiredly, "'Member when we were kids and Stefan wanted to play checkers but we couldn't afford the game?"_

 _Surprised, Caroline nodded, allowing herself to smile slightly at the memory of turning saltine crackers into checkers by smearing half with peanut butter and the other half with jelly and making a checkerboard using a marker on taped-together notebook paper. It had been fun teaching her brothers how to play, pretending to scold them when they kept eating the game pieces when her back was turned._

 _"Always fixing everything, big sister," Damon continued wistfully, "But you can't fix me. Too broken."_

 _Shaking her head, she pulled him into a fierce hug, telling him forcefully, "No! Nothing's too broken. It's not too late, little brother." She felt his body shake against hers, and his painful sobs tore at her heart._

 _In that moment, she'd allowed herself to believe in Damon's desire to change and her ability to see him through his terrible addiction. She'd still been in the National Guard and her salary was already stretched too thin, so she'd taken a second mortgage out on their family home to pay for Damon's rehab. The medical staff had warned her that his withdrawals would be severe, but Damon hadn't even lasted through that weekend. He'd waited until the staff was changing shifts and then walked out the door in stolen nurse scrubs, not surfacing again for several months._

"I'm sure you did everything you could for Damon. You've sacrificed so much for your brothers," Klaus told her, breaking into her troubled thoughts.

She cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice from breaking as she revealed, "It's still so hard to accept that the kid I taught how to play checkers overdosed while I was thousands of miles away."

Brows knit in concern, he answered, "We have that in common, then, sweetheart. The endless guilt of a caretaker. The first school trip I allowed myself to go on, thinking our father would be too drunk to realize my younger siblings were staying at our neighbor's home while I was gone, was a disaster. Unfortunately, he sobered up at some point and realized where they were, and yanked them down the block until he fractured my little sister Rebekah's arm."

Horrified, Caroline squeezed his hand. "Klaus, that's awful. I'm so sorry."

He regarded her gravely, shrugging as though trying to cast off his own demons — a gesture she'd perfected over the years. "Life can be messy and cruel. I've learned over the years to focus on my work instead. Maybe not the best way to deal with it, but I suspect we have that in common as well."

Caroline felt herself smile at his words, despite everything she'd just relived in her mind. "You're more right than you know," she acknowledged, thinking of how her entire world revolved around the next mission. _Maybe it would be nice to take some time for something else. Something new._ She shook her head, not wanting to deal with those inconvenient thoughts at the moment. "So, we're about halfway to the control room where Katherine's group is holed up. According to the schematics, there's an air duct tunnel that we can take the rest of the way once we find the access panel."

"Okay, sounds simple enough, love. Lead the way," he said, gesturing toward the next corridor. They quietly moved down the hall, the rubber soles of her boots specially made to absorb noise. She was on high alert, constantly checking the perimeter while keeping Klaus in her peripheral view. She noticed that despite the tense lines of his body, he moved with a fluid, confident grace that kept trying to distract her from their mission.

The scraping noise began slowly, barely a whisper before it grew into a steady hum that set Caroline's teeth on edge. She realized with a start that the scraping was too varied to be pipes or ductwork. _One of the creatures had found them_.


	5. Chapter 5: Fight and Flight

A twisted hunk of metal crashed down from the ceiling with an alarming thud that reverberated throughout the hallway as it narrowly missed Caroline's head. She roughly pulled Klaus behind her, shielding him from any additional debris that might fall. Blue eyes scanning the ragged hole in the ceiling, Caroline aimed the barrel of her submachine gun, her finger gently resting on the trigger. A rush of movement and the harsh scrape of claws on metal still didn't prepare her for the sudden onslaught of rough fur and solid muscle as it knocked her to the concrete floor.

"Caroline," Klaus shouted fearfully, unable to get to her because of the snarling beast between them.

She quickly leapt to her feet, swinging the butt of her rifle in an upward arc that caught the werewolf underneath its muzzle, momentarily stunning it. She caught Klaus' wide-eyed gaze, appreciating the fact that while he obviously was terrified, he appeared rigidly calm. She jerked her chin toward a far corner, indicating that she needed him out of the direct line of fire. Klaus nodded once, slowly making his way over there while she kept the beast's attention on her.

Shaking its massive head, it slung ribbons of foul-smelling saliva onto her forearm. She jerked her arm away, narrowly missing the razor-sharp claws as it swiped at her. Narrowing her gaze, she looked for an opening to land a shot. The werewolf's long, coarse hair and thick hide would make it difficult for a bullet to do much damage.

When it raised its head to let out a guttural roar, she aimed for the newly exposed neck, hoping the bullet could pierce the carotid artery. _See the blue mist on the mountain peak_. Her calming mantra kept her focused and she breathed through the shot as the bullet left the chamber with a forceful gust of air. The bullet lodged in its neck, the thin trickle of blood indicating that only the first few layers of the beast's hide were penetrated. _Fuck_.

Enraged, the werewolf pounced, pinning her shoulder to the floor before she could roll away. She felt the warm gush of her blood as it soaked through her shirt, gritting her teeth to keep from yelling. The creature turned its head as Klaus shouted her name, and she blindly groped for her compact folding knife, the cold feel of the titanium frame reassuring in her sweaty grip. She shoved the sharp blade into the werewolf's side, twisting the metal to cause more damage.

The werewolf bellowed angrily, rearing up slightly which allowed Caroline to quickly roll away. Klaus rushed forward to pull her to her feet, but then his gray eyes widened in horror and she knew she wouldn't have time to get away before the creature attacked again. She quickly clasped her hands behind her neck and braced her elbows to make it harder for the werewolf to roll her over, but she realized that Klaus foolishly distracted the monster by slamming into it with his entire body.

"Damn it, Klaus," she cursed, worry straining her voice as she watched him awkwardly grapple with the werewolf. His movements were too unfocused for her to get another clear shot at the creature, and her heart sank as she saw that Klaus wouldn't be able to keep the beast's snapping jaws away from him much longer.

Gripping her knife still slick with the werewolf's blood, she raced forward, knocking Klaus safely to the side as she ducked underneath the beast's forelegs to deliver a punishing blow to its lower belly. She'd barely slid in her knife a third time when the werewolf caught her shoulder between its teeth. She couldn't help the gasp of pain that escaped as the creature dug its fangs into the same patch of flesh it had previously clawed. _It bit her_. She couldn't stop to think about what that might mean. She watched in confusion as the beast narrowed its dark eyes, oddly breathing her in. _Why was it smelling her?_

A shot rang out, the bullet ricocheting wildly off of the metal casing of an overhead light. _Klaus tried to shoot the werewolf_. Lousy aim, but she appreciated the effort. It distracted the beast long enough for her to unclip a grenade from her tactical belt. A specially designed multi-purpose hand grenade, she flipped the lever to a fragmentation rather than a concussive blast to cause more damage.

The moment she threw the grenade at the werewolf, Klaus raced toward her, pulling her with him as they fled the narrow corridor to try to escape the blast. They had just reached the air duct when the walls shuddered from the grenade going off. They coughed as dust from the cracked walls choked the air, freezing when they heard the terrifying roar of the enraged creature.

Caroline used the corner of a metal cart to spring forward, knocking out the vent with one punch from her uninjured shoulder. "Move, Klaus," she hissed at him, keeping a lookout for the creature. He valiantly tried to mimic her fluid vault maneuver, but ended up struggling to pull his lower half into the air duct. She quickly shoved his legs up, her heart speeding up as she heard the telltale scratching noises of the werewolf's claws as it drew closer.

Ignoring the painful ache of her shoulder, she repeated her move, springing forward to grasp the rough edges of the duct and neatly rolled herself inside. Sandwiched next to Klaus, they tried to control their labored breathing as they heard the werewolf enter their corridor, its low, threatening growl sending a chill down their spines as they waited to be discovered. Everything felt heightened in the air duct — her blood drying to a sticky mess, the painful throb of her torn skin and muscle, Klaus' labored breathing, the strength of his hand as he gripped hers tightly.

Turning her head, she was startled by how close he was, and she instantly was pulled into the intensity of his gaze. While his fear was apparent, she admired the steel she found there, and the way he set his jaw determinedly. _He was a fighter_.

The lumbering creature's movements echoed down the corridor as it searched for them. The scraping of its claws against the concrete floor made them both wince slightly, but they maintained rigid control as they silently lay beside each other. While her vision was blocked by the steep pitch of the air duct, she listened carefully to the werewolf's movements and realized that the noises were fainter — _it was moving away from them_.

They stayed where they were, weighing each moment of silence to determine if it was safe to continue their journey. Her sweaty skin now felt cold and clammy, and she shivered slightly. Klaus' handsome face contorted in concern as he gingerly ran his hands along her bare arms, clearly searching for other wounds. When he realized her shoulder was still bleeding slightly, he tore off the edge of his shirttail and bound her wound.

"Thanks," she whispered, "You saved me a couple of times back there. Stupid, but brave," she muttered.

Flushing slightly, Klaus replied, "It's only fair; you saved me right back, love." Hand shaking slightly, he brushed aside several blonde strands that had escaped from her braid. "Sweetheart, you shot, stabbed and wrestled a bloody werewolf to defend me. I owe you my life."

The sincerity in his voice touched her. Swallowing the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat, Caroline lightly scoffed, "Yeah and the werewolf is still out there. We have to figure out how to stop these things."

"We will. The science is in front of us, just waiting to be recognized," he answered forcefully.

Squeezing his hand, she smiled gently. "I like your confidence. Now, let's go save Matt and then prove you right."

* * *

The rest of their journey through the air duct was mercifully uneventful, and they arrived outside the control room without another werewolf sighting. Caroline started to remove the large vent cover for them to gain access to the room when she heard Katherine hiss, "Goddamn it, Alaric — I get that your crippling insecurities demand you hit on women half your age, but if you hit me with one more lame-ass pickup line, I _will_ skin your wrinkled, leathery ass and turn it into boots just so I can stomp on you all fucking day."


	6. Chapter 6: The Acceptable Risk

Author's note: Your reviews were so much fun to read; thank you for sticking with my story so far! Also, a lot of you picked up on the clues I've been placing in my chapters — good job! If you're familiar with my work, you know I enjoy a few plot twists and turns. :)

Warning: Violence.

* * *

Flashing a bewildered Klaus an amused grin, Caroline lifted off the air duct cover and jumped down into the control room, feeling strangely exhilarated now that she was reuniting with her team. She knew that whatever they faced next, they would face it together. She was proud of the way her team moved together as one, their highly disciplined training on display as Katherine, Bonnie, and Enzo stood in standard triangle formation to protect the civilians. Their quick reflexes allowed them to recognize their commander and lower their weapons even before her boots touched the concrete.

"Commander," Katherine greeted her, brown eyes quickly assessing her blood-stained shirt, "looks like you lost a wet t-shirt contest."

Caroline snorted, replying sarcastically, "And from what I heard, you've scored a Bill Nye the Sugar Daddy."

Shrugging carelessly, her captain jerked her head toward Bonnie and said, "At least I only _threatened_ to skin his wrinkly ass. Bonnie's the one who threw a knife at his head."

"Bonnie," Caroline sighed, surprised by her officer's Kol-like lack of restraint.

Dark eyes feigning innocence, Bonnie toyed with the canvas gun strap slung across her shoulder. "What? I thought I saw a spider."

She turned to help Klaus climb the rest of the way into the room, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling as she caught the telltale quirk of his lips that said he was fighting back inappropriate laughter too. The burning ache in her shoulder jolted her back to reality. _A reality with werewolves, for fuck's sake_. Damn Stefan's ridiculous movie monster obsession — she really should've given him better advice about girls when he clumsily started dating.

Clearing her throat, she addressed her team: "One monster came at us from the ceiling when we were on the second floor. Buried a bullet in its neck, but its damn hide is too thick to cause much damage. Knifed it a few times in the side, but it didn't seem to slow it down much. Ditto for the grenade."

While her team remained stoic in the face of her grim report, Klaus surprised her by speaking up to say, "The werewolves' regenerative properties only had begun to be studied when they escaped. Preliminary data suggests their hides, while not impervious to all damage, seems to knit back together within minutes. That said, I've now procured a sample to begin enzymatic tests." With a raw determination in his voice he swore, "There's a way to destroy these creatures — I just have to uncover the science."

A small moan near the back of the room caught her attention and she chastised herself for momentarily forgetting about the injured scientist they were there to help. Klaus' face immediately turned serious and he reached for his small first aid kit he'd brought as Caroline followed him toward the blood-streaked scientist laying on a table. One look at the pale, sweaty skin and the painful twitching told her that he was beyond the help they could provide.

 _Just like her mother had been. Caroline had been in her last month of her senior year when she'd received the call from the hospital. She barely listened to the policeman who detailed the horrific car wreck that involved multiple cars and a distracted semi-truck driver. Instead, she couldn't stop staring at the blinking, beeping series of machines that were keeping her mother alive._

 _Each artificial breath that moved through her mother's pale, broken form felt as though it took away one of Caroline's, making her dizzy. The doctors had been infuriatingly calm as they said that her mother would never wake up or breath on her own. She was nothing more than a shell._

 _It was in that moment the remaining sliver of childhood she'd stubbornly clung to was gone, and she knew what had to be done. Wiping her eyes, she'd gone to the waiting room to collect Stefan and Damon, and together they took the long, horrible walk back to their mother's room to say goodbye._

 _Still gawky preteens, they'd looked up at her with tearful eyes, trembling as they clung to Caroline, hugging her tightly. She murmured, "No matter what, we'll get through this. We're family."_

 _Stefan had looked up at her, his brown eyes full of worry as he asked brokenly, "What's going to happen to us?"_

 _Her heart broke all over again as she heard Damon say roughly, "Foster home, probably. We don't have anyone else."_

" _No," she told her brothers firmly, "You have me. And you always will." She grasped their mother's limp hand, doing her best not to burst into hysterical sobs as she looked at her strangely serene face. "I swear it, Mom. I'll take care of Damon and Stefan. You don't need to worry." As her brothers hugged their mother one last time, Caroline's voice hitched as she said, "You can let us go."_

Shaking her head, angry that she'd allowed her memories to distract her from her responsibilities, Caroline focused on the grim situation before her.

"Matt," Klaus said lightly, gently laying his hand on top of the scientist's head. He quickly made a shushing noise when he saw how little energy Matt had left. "Save your strength."

Caroline didn't let her gaze linger on the awkward angle of Matt's broken arm, realizing that his other injuries were more severe. Pushing aside the shredded fabric of Matt's filthy lab coat, she eyed the flesh and muscle severely damaged by the werewolf. "Remove or work around," she asked Klaus quietly, pointing to the ruined fabric.

"Work around — he's in shock from the blood loss and we need to keep him warm," Klaus answered, gruffly telling Alaric, "Toss us your overshirt, mate." He and Caroline gingerly draped the jacket around Matt, noting how pale and clammy he was. At Klaus' direction, Caroline applied pressure to several of the still-bleeding puncture wounds, even as she surmised from Klaus' grim expression that the werewolf's fangs had caused extreme trauma to the internal organs. Even if by some miracle they managed to stabilize him, his weakened immune system likely wouldn't survive the bacterial infections.

"The graying skin, the lips turning blue," Klaus began hesitantly, "he needs a transfusion as soon as possible." Matt began to gurgle and gasp for air, shuddering violently. "Hold him steady," he instructed Caroline, reaching for a small suture kit. However, before he could open it, menacing snarls alerted the group that they'd been found.

Katherine took point, her toned arms steady as she raised her submachine gun to the double doors. "Reinforced steel," she called back to her commander, while the rest of the team awaited orders.

Blue eyes narrowed, Caroline muttered, "Probably standard 18-gauge." She recalled the twisted remains of the ruined door downstairs that she and Kol first encountered, and decided not to risk it with both monsters. "We'll split into two groups and escape through the ducts again. Klaus and I will go to his lab to research a way to kill these bastards, while the rest of you head to the first floor where Kol, my brother and three other civilians are barricaded in a northeast office."

Enzo shared a silent look with his commander before tapping his earpiece. "Lab Rat, online. Fearless, Spell Slinger and Tomb Dodger are here along with three civilians, one of which is severely injured. Both werewolves are outside the control room."

Kol's voice came through the team's earpieces. "Mischief Maker here. Understood."

A horrific squealing sound of claws scratching through metal caused Alaric to jump, fearfully inching toward Katherine, who rolled her eyes despite the impending peril.

As the top corner of one door began to curl away from the frame under the powerful blows of the werewolves, Klaus looked at Caroline with an eerily calm expression she'd only ever seen on his brother's face in the heat of a battle.

 _Her breath was visible in the freezing morning air in the remote Russian village where she and her team had tracked down the infamous serial killer Qetsiyah, who'd fled from them assuming they wouldn't risk taking the 'Road of Bones' to capture her. From their surveillance, they knew she'd kept her youngest victim alive, hiding out in a tiny shack and living off of frozen reindeer meet._

 _From the infrared equipment, it was clear that Qetsiyah realized she'd been found and was using the boy as a human shield. An angry furrow appeared in Caroline's forehead as she calculated the angle of the best kill shot. She flexed her fingers, still trying to stiffen in the frosty air despite the double-wool-lined gloves. "Can't get a clean shot," she muttered in her earpiece, signaling to Kol who was perched in the loft of a broken-down barn across the narrow passage._

 _There was no trace of the familiar impish grin on her officer's face as he expertly adjusted the scope of his rifle. After a moment, he glanced at Caroline, strangely calm as his voice came over the earpiece. "Kill shot with civilian superficial injury."_

 _The terrified boy in Qetsiyah's clutches couldn't have been more than seven or eight. With a grimace, she spied the khanjali, Qetsiyah's signature double-edged dagger, digging into the thin, pale throat of the boy. No choice. Fuck. "Acceptable risk parameters. Engage."_

The hard edge to Klaus' voice broke her from her morbid thoughts. "Can your team get the entire group away from the werewolves and transport Matt?" He kept his voice low, despite the fact that Matt was no longer coherent, and the roars of the werewolves had grown so loud it felt as though they were in the room with them.

Caroline saw the steel in his gaze, and understood with cold certainty what he was really asking. Having already weighed the risks, she told him the truth. "No."

He nodded once, and then smoothly slipped the point of a scalpel into Matt's neck, cleanly severing the carotid. He gripped Matt's twitching hand, his voice shaking as he quietly said, "Forgive me." As Matt took a final shuddering breath before lying still, Caroline rested a comforting palm on Klaus' shoulder.

Straightening, she turned to her team, watching in approval as they pulled an almost catatonic Alaric up into the exposed air duct. She caught Katherine's eye before her captain disappeared after her group. She told her firmly, "Stay safe. And tell Stefan and Kol we're ok."

The thundering screeches of claws on steel caught Caroline's attention, and she realized that the creatures had broken down the top half of the doors. Realizing that Klaus hadn't moved from Matt's side, she allowed him one final moment to look at his fallen colleague before yanking him toward the air duct. She helped him climb up before vaulting in after him, quickly pulling the metal grate behind her.

Just as she locked it back in place, she saw the werewolves tumble into the control room, long claws scrabbling on the concrete floor. Fortunately, despite their height when they reared up, their muscular bodies were too wide to breach the concrete air ducts. Suddenly, one of the monsters stiffened, sniffing the air as though it caught her scent and was studying it. It turned its massive head to regard her with a dark, wild stare before resuming its threatening growls.

Klaus tapped her shoulder, distracting her from the werewolf's confusing behavior. As she quietly followed him into the dark recesses of the airshaft, she couldn't help the disquiet she felt. _Because she could have sworn that for a moment, she glimpsed a flicker of emotion, a bizarre sadness in the werewolf's dark eyes._


	7. Chapter 7: Pleasure with Your Pain

Author's note: Sorry for the delay — thank you for your patience! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think. I also started a new Klaroline multi-chap called _A Killer Kink_ and would love to get your thoughts on it!

Warning: Sexy times ahead!

* * *

Glass shattered against the wall as Klaus hurled the beaker with all of his strength. He let out a cry of despair that tore at Caroline's heart. He'd been withdrawn as they made their way through the air ducts to his lab, but clearly his emotions had been boiling just under the surface. In every tense muscle, she could read his fear of the monsters who hunted them and the devastation he felt from ending Matt's suffering. She ran toward where he'd fallen to his knees, wrapping her arms around him as she murmured urgently, "Klaus, I need you to keep it together!"

Looking around his lab wildly, he seemed to realize his outburst could alert the werewolves to their location and he froze, listening intently for the slightest hint of the creatures' claws scraping against the concrete. When the tension-filled silence persisted, they both seemed to lower the guard slightly.

Recalling Caroline's words, Klaus scoffed, telling her bitterly, "Need _me_? Look at what I've done! I'm completely useless. And now I've killed."

She took in his torn, stained button-down, spying several scratches on his forearms from the werewolf that had attacked them earlier. Two of them looked deep, the flesh bruised and shredded in a manner that must have caused him pain, but he had yet to complain about it. Her own shoulder ached from that same werewolf's claws as well as its fangs, but the adrenaline had been steadily pumping on this mission, fueled by her worry over her brother and her own fear, to distract her from the sharp sting.

"You are the furthest thing from useless, Klaus," Caroline spoke reassuringly, "You have no combat training but you've managed to survive against incredible odds, even bravely jumping in to help me fight off one of those beasts." The heavy sigh he emitted while in her arms made her blue eyes swim with tears. She couldn't stomach the thought of him being so broken. "And what you did back there, for Matt, it was selfless and brave and you knew what it would do to your soul and you did it anyway to free Matt from an even more painful death and to save the rest of us."

She swiped at a tear with the back of her hand, her tremulous voice barely above a whisper as she told him, "We all need you to get through this. _I_ need you."

The steel in Klaus' eyes softened and his grief-stricken expression became so earnest and hopeful that it left her breathless at the implications. " _You_ need me?" When she nodded mutely, overwhelmed by the intensity of their moment, he surged forward, bringing their lips together.

The ferocity of their kiss seemed to take them both by surprise, igniting passions that they'd clearly felt for each other but hadn't allowed themselves to explore before this moment. _It didn't matter that there was a mission and lives at stake and two werewolves to destroy_. In that moment, they could just be Klaus and Caroline, two people finally succumbing to their mutual attraction and acknowledging the intense connection they'd shared from that first chaotic introduction.

She leaned into his touch, delighting in the dominance she felt there as he pulled off her hair tie and knotted his fingers in her loosened blonde plait. Trailing her lips along the rough stubble of his jawline, she nibbled at his exposed flesh, his small sighs of pleasure spurring her further. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt, her fingers anxious to explore the surprising taut muscles she found.

Klaus helped her finish removing his shirt before running his hands underneath her torn black t-shirt, now stiff with blood. Together, they carefully lifted it over her head, avoiding her wounds as much as possible. As he scrambled for the zipper to her tactical sports bra, she boldly rubbed her palm over his denim-clad bulge. His answering groan encouraged her, and she varied her strokes from feather-soft touches to deeper massages as his erection twitched in its confined space.

"Fuck, sweetheart, keep doing that," he panted, grinding his pelvis against her hand. He unzipped her bra, cupping her breasts as his thumbs roughly outlined her nipples until they were stiff peaks.

After one of his pinches caused her to toe that narrow line between pleasure and pain, her patience snapped and she tore at his jeans, nearly ruining his zipper in her quest to get to his cock. When his slickened tip grazed her palm, she smoothly glided her hand up and down his erection, the feel of his hot skin against hers making them both shudder.

"You feel so good," she purred, pushing down her fatigue pants and placing his cock between her thighs, teasing the tip as she lightly squeezed.

The growl at the back of his throat took her by surprise, and she let out a breathless sigh as he grabbed her ass and pushed her to the floor before covering her body with his. That first powerful thrust left her dizzy with want, and she wrapped her legs around his waist to anchor him to her. When his hand found her clit, she squeezed her eyes shut as her orgasm kept building, rocking into him as he sped up his thrusts.

"Let go, sweetheart," Klaus ground out, "I want to feel it."

Caroline pushed herself to that blissful edge, trembling from the strength of her orgasm as it ripped through her. Klaus moaned at the feeling, prolonging his own ecstasy as long as possible, his thrusts leaving them both a sweaty, panting mess.

She was surprised by how easy this part was — laying tangled together, no awkward glances or misinterpreted signals. Whatever this was between them, the soft glances and gentle touches they traded in the afterglow seemed to have deepened their connection. It had been a long time since she'd felt the first stirrings of hope and by the awestruck expression she occasionally caught on Klaus' handsome face, it seemed he felt the same.

With a sigh of contentment, she rolled over to grab her discarded clothes when he suddenly ran a fingertip over her shoulder blades, hesitantly tracing the angry ridges of the old scars that crisscrossed down her back. His silence was deafening, and the longer he touched her scars, the heavier that silence became. "You want to know about my scars," she ventured, not bothering to put back on her clothes as she resettled comfortably beside him.

"I wasn't sure if I could ask about them," Klaus cautiously replied. He brushed her loose waves away from her shoulder, leaning over to kiss the furthest edge of her scars.

With a mirthless laugh, she explained, "Actually, you could say this is my second run-in with werewolves." As his gray eyes widened in surprise, she waved off his questions, adding, "The animals who gave me these old knife wounds called themselves _The Werewolves_ , a group of white supremacists who thought Kid Rock was telepathically sending them messages."

Cursing, his eyes flashed in anger even as his touch become impossibly soft as he caressed her cheek, telling her, "Your courage astounds me, love." Placing a reverent kiss upon her forehead he added, "I'm awestruck by your strength of spirit."

Clearing her throat that suddenly become tight with emotion, she searched for something to say. She'd never been good at taking compliments, and knew that anything she said now would just be awkward or weird. Curiosity got the better of her as her eyes landed on something she'd registered earlier. With a furrowed brow, she carefully brushed her palm over the faint white lines that formed a jagged half-circle along his collarbone.

Her silent exploration seemed to encourage Klaus to speak. "Courtesy of my father," he explained, "bloody bastard broke a bottle on me when I slammed a door — I was nine."

"Christ," she muttered, "It's a goddamn miracle you and your siblings survived your childhood." Shaking her head, she said bitterly, "Fathers. What a useless concept. Our dad left us when I was 13 to shack up with his boyfriend he'd apparently been seeing behind mother's back for years. I haven't seen him since."

Leaning into Klaus' tender touch with a sigh, she confessed, "When Stefan graduated college, he asked me for one thing. Begged me, if I'm being honest. He asked me to use my resources to track down our father. I finally shared what I found, thinking it would give him some sort of closure to know our father had chosen to live alone even after his lover had died. Our father didn't want us and the sooner Stefan accepted it, the better off he'd be. But Stefan told me he's never had the courage to contact him. Too afraid of rejection, I guess."

Caroline blinked in surprise as she realized she'd confessed more than what she'd intended, and rather than a sinking feeling in her stomach, she felt strangely liberated. Taking a breath, she told him something that she'd been thinking about since this mission had begun: "Actually, as angry as I am with our father, this situation has made me question whether I should try to reach out to him once this is over." At Klaus' surprised grunt, she half-shrugged, explaining, "Stefan and I just have each other now and maybe we should do something about that before it's too late."

Klaus ran his thumb soothingly over her knuckles, telling her, "Nearly all of Stefan's stories are about you. I envy the bond you two share."

Smiling at him fondly, Caroline replied, "With our jobs, it's obviously not easy to hang out, but we take a vacation somewhere neither of us have ever been every year. It's something we started years ago when I talked Stefan into hiking Mount Lykaion with me right before my HALO training. It's where one of the earliest werewolf legends originated and we'd always been fascinated by the history of the region. We'd stood near the top of the mountain, and I was awestruck by the beauty of the wild lupines fusing their blue petals with the mist that I coined my phrase that keeps me focused on especially difficult missions: See the blue mist on the mountain peak."

"It must be a very special place, love. I must admit your words have piqued my curiosity and I'd like to see it in person one day," he commented, a small scowl forming as he added, "And then, your brother decided to trample on that lovely memory by hunting werewolves and bringing them back here."

The heavy lab door swung open with a bang, startling them both, as Kol crossed the threshold with his usual swagger, a horrified Stefan (now inexplicably sporting _two_ black eyes) reluctantly following him as Kol said, "Honestly, Klaus, your wooing strategy is to badmouth the lady's idiot brother? Although, from the looks of things, perhaps your technique isn't complete bollocks, mate."


	8. Chapter 8: Reunited but Are We United?

Author's note: Your reviews mean so much to me! Thank you for all of the great guesses you've sent me about your predictions for this story! This chapter will give us some more flashbacks and insights into our characters' relationships. Enjoy!

* * *

"What the fuck?! That's my sister, you bastard," Stefan yelled, running over to Klaus, clearly intent on tackling him, but stopping short when he realized Klaus was still naked.

Letting out a snort, Kol told him, "Go ahead, mate, let's see if you wrestle any better than you box, eh?" He whipped a desk chair around, straddling it nonchalantly as he grinned at Stefan.

Caroline rolled her eyes as she pulled back on her fatigues, yanking her bloody, ragged t-shirt back over her head as she asked Stefan, "So, what'd you do that Kol decided to black your other eye? Did you get judgy about his choices too?"

Looking somewhat abashed, her brother muttered, "Klaus isn't good enough for you, Caroline. I was just looking out for you."

"Not your job, Stefan," Klaus retorted, standing up to finish stepping into his jeans. "Your sister is more than capable of taking care of herself plus saving the lot of us." He glanced over at Caroline, allowing that familiar, toe-curling heat to color his gaze as he added, "She's a fierce, stunning warrior and I'm proud to fight at her side."

Caroline felt her cheeks coloring, but before she could answer, Kol sighed dramatically, "Honestly, brother, after listening to your material, I can't figure out how you managed to make this little rendezvous happen." Winking at her, he asked, "Did you hit your head, Caroline? Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"How many am I," she retorted sweetly, flipping off her cheeky officer as she threw Klaus his blood-speckled button-down. Noticing Kol open his mouth to make a pervy joke that likely would piss off both Klaus and Stefan, she cut him off to ask sharply, "What are you guys doing here? I gave you a direct order to stay on the first floor and use the schematics to map out an exit strategy."

Out of the corner of her eye, she registered Klaus stand up a bit straighter at her 'commander' tone, flushing slightly as he seemed to fight the urge to adjust himself. _Interesting. I'd like to explore that little reaction further once we're not neck-deep in Stefan's movie monster nightmare._

Stefan pulled Caroline out of her ill-timed dirty thoughts, telling her, "I was worried about you! You're my sister, damn it, and I needed to make sure you were ok." He quickly crossed the room and wrapped her up in a fierce hug, breathing her in as though he was afraid she'd disappear at any moment. She bit back a small sob that wanted to escape when she thought of all the close calls they both had faced and wondered how many more they'd get before someone's luck ran out. With a final affectionate pat for Stefan, she stepped away to look at Kol pointedly for an explanation.

Kol explained, "This bloody git was hysterical after we heard the two werewolves attacking when you met up with Katherine's team and he ran screaming down the halls trying to get to you." Shrugging, he added, "We came to an agreement after I blacked his other eye and then we tracked you down. Katherine's group has reached the remaining three civilians on the first floor and will be in contact soon."

Nodding in approval at her officer, she inwardly admonished herself for even thinking for a moment that Kol would ever allow a mission to fail while he was being...Kol. "You know," she told him with a sly grin, "If you take away the werewolves, this is kind of like that job we pulled in Bangladesh...although the uniformed guards were almost as hairy."

Rolling his chair over to her, Kol gleefully gave her a high-five as he giggled, "And don't forget — _you can't eat a fried fish by flipping it_." It was their favorite local saying they'd learned in the remote village that had served as their team's hideout and it instantly evoked the hilarious memory of Kol catching the thatched roof of their tiny clay house on fire while he and Enzo held an impromptu _Iron Chef_ contest.

 _Caroline was watching the horizon for Katherine and Bonnie to return from their initial recon of the illegally appointed cabinet members' rural retreat. "That fire isn't big enough to cook a lizard, mate, much less the boar we flushed out of the bush earlier," Kol teased Enzo, eyeing the smaller flames critically as he threw another armload of dried palm fronds onto his own roaring blaze._

 _Caroline coughed as black smoke soured the air of their confined house, the open windows not wide enough to properly ventilate the meager cooking space. She spied Enzo threading thin strips of boar meat onto sharpened bamboo sticks, positioning them over the flames to begin cooking, which caused Kol to panic at the thought of losing their contest and he began encouraging the flames of his cooking fire with two enormous hand fans._

 _Rolling her eyes, she told him wryly, "Pretty sure your fire is ready, Emeril."_

" _Just need the perfect temperature for perfectly seared meat," Kol told her, reaching for more palm fronds before sniffing the air comically, asking, "Smells like someone's about to lose our bet, mate. No one wants shriveled-up, burnt boar meat."_

 _Feeling the temperature in the tiny clay home rise, Caroline happened to glance up, shrieking as she realized Kol had caught their roof on fire. The fire raced across the dried-out vegetation, dropping embers onto the dirt floor as the trio cursed and grabbed as many supplies as they could carry before the entire house went up in flames._

 _Gasping for air, they sat on a mossy log near the edge of the jungle, watching Kol's fire devour their temporary shelter. Brow furrowed, Kol suddenly lifted his charred boar meat on his cooking pole, telling Enzo, "So...best two out of three?"_

Caroline bit her lip to keep from giggling at the fond memory, while Kol wiggled his eyebrows comically at her. A disgruntled harrumph from Klaus made Caroline roll her eyes, realizing that on some level, he was jealous of the bond she had with his brother. "Ok, so despite what you two barged in on, Klaus and I are here so he can access his research and figure out a way to kill these things." Nodding at her brother, she added, "Stefan, go help him while Kol and I try to get the security system back online to try to track the creatures."

Following Kol into a side office with a control panel, Caroline closed the door, leaning against it as she warily asked her officer, "Was that a bad idea?"

Examining a tangle of wires underneath the curved console, Kol snorted. "Jumping down this godforsaken hole to battle werewolves was a _bad idea_. Making our brothers work together is a bloody catastrophe." Muffled curses from the other room seemed to illustrate his point, but they decided against intervening unless the noise level increased to the point that it could attract the monsters.

She helped Kol isolate what appeared to be a series of cables connected to the mainframe and quietly asked, "Do we need to talk about it?"

His lips quirked, and seemed on the brink of making one of his usual pervy jokes, but something in her expression stopped him. "I saw how Klaus looked at you. If you're having second thoughts, keep them to yourself until this mess is done." His tone turned brittle as he continued, "He won't get hurt on my watch. Not when I can stop it."

Touched by Kol's obvious loyalty to his brother, she reassured him, "We haven't exactly had a chance to talk over things, but you have my word I'll do my best not to screw it up."

Katherine's voice in their earpieces interrupted them: "Tomb Dodger online. We've determined an exit strategy to lead the four civilians with us to safety. Using a series of air ducts connecting the north quadrant to the cafeteria, we can get everyone to the rendezvous point we set up with the plasma cutter."

Closing her eyes to calm herself before thinking through the exit strategy, she quickly reached a decision. "Understood. Tomb Dodger, you and Lab Rat will lead your civilians out of this compound using the exit strategy. Take them to our transport and remain there with them. Spell Slinger, maintain your current position in the northeast office. Once we have a plan of attack, we'll need you to help draw the werewolves out."

As everyone signed off in agreement, Kol banged his head against the wall behind the console as their brothers' arguing had gotten louder. "Bloody gits! They'll draw the werewolves right to us," he muttered darkly, splicing a frayed cable with his knife as he continued working on the security system.

Standing up, Caroline reassured him, "I'll go deal with it." Marching into the main lab, she hissed, "That's enough! While you've been wasting time out here, my team has secured an exit strategy for your coworkers Elena, Anna, Rose and Alaric. Now, what's going on out here?"

Glaring at Stefan, Klaus accused, "All of his research files are locked! We're in the middle of a bloody crisis and this blithering idiot has the balls the prattle on about security protocols!"

"Damn it, Stefan — give Klaus access to what he needs to do his job. We don't have time to play politics," she seethed at her baby brother.

Scrunching up his nose in distaste, Stefan muttered, "Fine, side with your stupid research monkey, Caroline." With a dramatic flourish, he entered several codes into the system, and then stomped into the supply room.

Groaning at the ridiculousness of the situation, she stormed after him, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her as she faced her stubborn baby brother. "Are we seriously doing this right now? Whatever is going on with me and Klaus is our business, and your commentary isn't needed. Got it?"

He squinted, grimacing slightly as the bruised skin around his eyes pulled uncomfortably. Opening his mouth to protest, she cut him off with a low snarl, "Unless you want me to wax poetic about how you're working through your mommy issues with that simpering little lab assistant?"

"Fine," Stefan grumbled, pointedly staring at the metal shelves full of test tubes, plastic funnels, scales, and other lab equipment.

Rubbing her forehead tiredly, Caroline told him, "I don't want to fight with you, Stefan. Not now, not when for the first time in our lives I might not be able to keep you safe."

Frowning at the small quaver in her voice near the end, he reached for her hand, squeezing it affectionately as he told her gently, "It hasn't been your job to protect me for a long time. We look after each other, remember?"

She quickly blinked away tears that his comment caused, reminding them both of their promise to each other at his graduation.

 _It had been a warm May afternoon and Caroline had screamed herself hoarse shouting Stefan's name as he gave his valedictorian speech. She was bursting with pride as she watched her baby brother stand triumphantly before his classmates and talk about the importance of ambition. She knew in her heart that he was destined to do great things._

 _Later on, she waded through the crowds of happy families and friends, all celebrating the momentous occasion. She felt the familiar pang in her heart that she was the only one there for Stefan — their mother had passed away years ago, their father long gone and Damon carelessly flitting in and out of their lives. She threw herself at Stefan, enveloping him in a gigantic hug._

 _When they broke apart, his exuberance suddenly faded into anger and as his eyes darted to the sides, she immediately understood. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I miss them too."_

 _Scoffing, Stefan told her, "There's no reason to miss them, Caroline. Our father and Damon obviously aren't missing us."_

 _She hated to see so much bitterness in her little brother and swore to him, "It's you and me, Stefan. We look after each other."_

With a sigh, Caroline swiped at a stray tear and confessed, "When this is over, when we get out of this mess, I've been thinking I want to reach out to our father."

Eyes wide in surprise, Stefan nearly dropped the stack of petri dishes he'd been gathering. "Why bother," he asked, shaking his head, "He abandoned us. He wasn't there for us when we needed him; he doesn't deserve to be in our lives now."

She impatiently shoved up the ragged sleeve of her t-shirt, exposing her wounds one of the werewolves left behind. She watched Stefan's face transform from bitter to concerned as he examined her torn, bloodied flesh. She was pissed that one of its claws had gouged out part of her Hunters' mark, a tattoo that everyone on her team shared. She'd always found the symmetry of the five swords fanning out in a perfect circle comforting, and now the werewolf had ripped through that symbol of team solidarity. _The beast would die bloody by her hand, she vowed_.

"Stefan, this whole crazy situation has made me question everything I thought I knew and I find myself thinking that life is more than just a few random moments stitched together. _I need more_. I want to talk to our father and ask him 'why'. For fuck's sake, look at my shoulder! We know nothing about these monsters and now I've been bitten and scratched and for all we know, I could be turning into a goddamn werewolf!"

The corners of his lips twitched as though he was fighting back a smile. "You're not turning into a werewolf, Caroline. That's one thing we can be sure of, trust me."

"Really? How can you be so sure," she asked hopefully.

Taking on his familiar cocky attitude, he reassured her, "Graduate degrees in biochemistry, molecular biophysics and cellular physiology, for one thing. For another, that was one of the first focuses of our research since our military contract expected us to send them an entire army of superior soldiers. It would certainly be easier if we could recreate werewolves as a virus rather than sending out safari expeditions. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the werewolves can transmit their condition in that manner."

Feeling a flood of relief course through her body, Caroline let out a small giggle, hugging her brother enthusiastically. She allowed herself to feel the first stirrings of hope that everything would turn out alright in the end. _That, of course, was her first mistake._


	9. Chapter 9: Painful Realizations

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait; I've been working on my KC gift exchange and finally clawed my way back out of deep research mode. Thank you for all of your reviews and favorites! It's so gratifying to see the positive response and how so many of you keep coming back for more! We're finally getting a few answers here...and some new questions arise...

Warning: Some violence.

* * *

 _"We could never go back to the way things were." It's what she knew in her heart the day she'd arrived home after several weeks at HALO training to catch Damon rifling through her jewelry box. She'd realized something was wrong when she spied the broken window in her living room. Fueled by anger at the thought that someone would dare break in, she immediately drew her Ruger, the gleam of the silver-topped barrel reassuring her. But when she discovered her little brother in her bedroom, stoned out of his mind, she quickly holstered her pistol._

 _"Damon, what the fuck?!" Her broken shout sounded like a wounded animal, but it contained enough authority to make him jump, a vaguely guilty expression flitting across his pasty, sweating face._

 _Blinking rapidly at her as though not fully processing her presence, Damon slurred, "Car-Carolineeee? You're here? Why are yooouu here?"_

 _"I live here, dumbass," she said in irritation, "Christ, Damon, that junk you're on didn't even leave you enough brain cells to remember my schedule and steal from me properly?" She noted the scabs on his face and arms, hating how she could barely recognize her little brother underneath the damage the heroin had caused._

 _He waved one arm wildly around the room, the gesture oddly disjointed from the rest of his body, almost like a marionette's. Bloodshot eyes studied the empty space next to her as he tried in vain to focus, mumbling, "Wasn't stealing, Bitch. Always such a bitch to me."_

 _The metallic glint in the shadows of her bedroom caught her eye and she flipped on a lamp, scowling as she accused, "Seriously?! Then what's that in your other hand?" When he tried to hide his clenched fist behind his back, it angered her even more and she lunged forward to pull him into a loose wristlock hold, a shrill whine escaping him as he struggled in her grip. As she glanced down at his arms, she registered the numerous needle tracks, some infected and oozing. The faint, sickly-sweet smell turned her stomach, but she forced herself to pry apart his sweaty fingers to reveal small pearl earrings set in gold._

 _That had belonged to their mother._

 _Caroline hated how the sight of the simple earrings made her breath catch and she fought back tears as she roughly yanked them out of his reach. "Goddamn it, Damon," she seethed, "You were just going to steal our mother's jewelry and pawn it for drugs? What the hell is wrong with you?!" At his guilty expression, she felt another surge of anger as she asked suspiciously, "What else, Damon? What else did you try to steal from me?"_

 _Not waiting for an answer, she kept his wrists in one firm grip while she quickly gave him a pat-down, pausing when she yanked the narrow edge of a metal clasp hanging out of his back pocket. With a gasp, she realized it was their father's old watch, the familiar, tarnished piece of jewelry the only thing they had left of him. A coldness settled in the pit of her stomach as she realized that Damon was willing to take away the remaining pieces they had of their parents. Selfish bastard._

 _"Heyyyy," her brother slurred, "I need those...to get meeee...to get what I need!"_

 _Disgusted, Caroline spun him around, tossing the jewelry on the shelf behind her before telling him spitefully, "You know we never had much growing up. Odds are Mom's pearls aren't much more than polished marbles and Dad's watch is mostly steel and there's no way in hell your dealer was going to give you shit for that." Shaking her head angrily, she added, "But what their jewelry meant to me? To our family?! That's all we have left of our parents!"_

 _She watched Damon shift awkwardly under her gaze, furiously scratching at his neck and arms. She lowered her voice, dejectedly saying, "But you don't care. About any of it. So just get out." When he hadn't moved, she lost her temper and screeched, "Get out!"_

 _Once he finally shuffled away, she slammed her front door, knowing in her heart that they'd crossed a line. She told herself again, "We could never go back to the way things were." Curling protectively into herself, she leaned against her door, finally allowing herself to cry._

"And that's when I knew we could never go back to the way things were," Stefan told her, unwittingly pulling her out of the dark memory as he wrapped up his story about new research avenues he'd been pursuing. Not wanting him to realize where her memories had taken her, she smiled brightly at her brother, telling him, "Well, now you're just bragging. How does that ego fit in this compound and still leave room for your over-gelled hairdo?"

"The same way yours fits into your obscenely well-organized missions, Caroline," he answered with his usual cocky grin.

Suddenly, the door to the supply room banged open, Kol sticking his head in to announce gleefully, "Great news! My gormless brother's chat up lines are pure bollocks, but at least he's still good for something — he figured out a way to kill the werewolves!"

Caroline felt relief well up inside, allowing a tiny bit of hope to bleed through her constant worry. _They had a chance_. She enveloped Stefan into a quick hug, reassuring him, "We're getting out of here, Stefan. It's almost over."

As she pulled back, she noted a shadow cross his features before he gave her a quick smile. She recognized that petulant look — it was the same one he wore when he was little and Damon broke one of his toys. He was pissed they were about to destroy his werewolves — because despite the horrific things the creatures had done, he clearly still viewed them as nothing more than lab specimens. _For fuck's sake_. Refusing to fight with him about this, she pulled him back into Klaus' lab to find out what he'd discovered.

Klaus stood in front of a flat screen that covered most of one wall, pointing to an impressive series of equations and 3D diagrams of DNA sequences. She admired the way that his forearms flexed as he pointed to the different pieces of his research on display, the confident authority in his voice immensely appealing. _She had no idea she had such a professor kink_. As soon as this thing with the werewolves was finished, she planned on exploring it further with Klaus if he was interested.

From the way his gray eyes seemed to twinkle in her direction despite the seriousness of the situation, it looked like he'd be open to some _experimentation_. "Given the highly developed musculature, thick hides and fur, the werewolves are impervious to most conventional weapons. However, based on the lab's research, I hypothesize that chemical warfare is our best chance for success."

Carefully holding up a vial of amber-colored liquid, he explained, "VX is an odorless, tasteless nerve agent that initially started as an insecticide in the 1950s but eventually was deemed too toxic for agricultural use. It blocks nerve messages between cells, causing uncontrollable muscle contractions and death by asphyxiation." Sliding the cartridge into a small gun, he added, "The most effective delivery method is via tranquilizer gun through the creatures' mucus membranes."

Kol handed out guns to Stefan and Caroline along with multiple VX vials. "So, we just need to blast these bloody things in the eye. Good thing you haven't been skimping on your target practice, eh, Commander," he teased her good-naturedly.

"Honestly, Kol, a bit of decorum for the gravity of the situation," Klaus muttered as he set another rack of VX cartridges on the table beside him.

Before Caroline could weigh in, she was surprised by the undertone of suspicion she heard in Stefan's voice as he questioned, "How exactly did you reach this hypothesis? Your data analysis is haphazard at best."

Klaus replied acidly, "I finally ran the enzymatic tests that you never bothered to authorize. They led me to this conclusion." Underneath his defiant tone and authoritative stance, Caroline observed the way his jawline tightened and his gray eyes subtly flicked to the side. _Klaus was hiding something_.

A quick glance at Kol told her that he noticed his brother's odd behavior too. She was adept at reading her officer, from having spent years working side-by-side on dangerous engagements all over the world. Tensions already were too high between their brothers, and calling attention to whatever Klaus was withholding from the group would just make things worse. Clearing her throat, she took control of the situation, telling the group, "Nothing else we've tried has worked. Klaus' idea seems like our best chance to take these fuckers out."

Katherine's voice came through her and Kol's earpieces, effectively distracted them from whatever petty argument their brothers were having about Klaus' research methodology. "Tomb Dodger, online. Lab Rat and I have secured the four civilians in our transport."

"Fearless, online. Understood. Nicely done," Caroline praised her captain, adding triumphantly, "We have a plan for the hostiles and will head toward Spell Slinger." She returned Kol's giddy high-five with a smile, allowing herself a moment to celebrate her team's small success.

Bonnie's voice interrupted their celebration, her voice trembling slightly as she quietly told them, "Spell Slinger online — send backup. One of the hostiles is near the northeast office—" A loud crash followed by an unearthly roar cut off the rest of her officer's statement, leaving the group in a stunned silence.

 _Bonnie was facing a werewolf alone_. Caroline and Kol glanced at each other, a sliver of fear flashing across their faces before they settled into the iron-controlled stoicism needed for their missions. "Everyone, grab your guns and VX cartridges. Let's go hunting," Caroline briskly directed them, motioning toward the door.

Just as Kol's fingers brushed the complicated keypad, the door suddenly lurched under a powerful blow from outside. _Fuck_. The other creature had found them. Quickly examining the room for access points, she motioned Kol toward the large air duct in the corner. "You and Stefan go help Bonnie. Klaus and I will stay behind and deal with this monster." She could tell that he wanted to argue with her, but he respected her too much to defy a direct order from his commander.

Nodding once, Kol held his brother's gaze for a moment, telling him, "Be safe." Then, he used the nearby sink to vault high enough to punch out the vent cover, easily pulling himself into the duct.

Stefan, however, stubbornly protested despite how she and Klaus pushed him toward Kol's waiting hand. "Caroline, I don't think this is such a good idea..." he began warily, his face ashen as a muffled snarl came from the door behind them.

Touched by her baby brother's concern for her, she tried to keep her voice steady as she reassured him, "Everything will be fine. Go with Kol. Look after each other and Klaus and I will do the same. We'll come find you once we get rid of this thing." Ignoring the rest of his grumblings, she gave him a boost so that Kol could pull him the rest of the way into the duct.

Just as their brothers escaped, the werewolf burst into Klaus' lab, dripping foul-smelling saliva from its elongated snout as it growled at them menacingly. Sharp claws clattered along the tile floor as it advanced on Caroline, eyeing her intently. She purposely placed herself between the creature and Klaus, not wanting to risk him getting hurt. The werewolf tracked her movements, and she quickly ducked under its powerful claws as it swiped at her. She took advantage of the creature while it was temporarily off-balance, placing a swift kick to one of its hind legs.

As it threw back its head in an angry roar, she took careful aim, lining up her shot with the dark eye that glared at her. However, just as she pulled the trigger, Klaus bellowed, "No, Caroline!" She was so shocked by his outburst that she didn't realize he'd barreled into her until it was too late and her shot was thrown off. The cartridge of amber liquid shattered against the wall near the beast's head, enraging it further as it lunged for them.

"Seriously, Klaus?! What the fuck's wrong with you," she screamed, throwing him off of her as she narrowed her blue eyes suspiciously at him. She'd realized he was hiding something earlier, but it hadn't occurred to her that he'd try to prevent her from the killing the werewolves. _What was she missing?_

Klaus flinched slightly at her voice, the only outward sign he'd given that he heard her as he raced toward the monster, keeping his arm steady just as she'd shown him when they first met. Caroline instinctively followed him, prepared to pull him away before the werewolf could rip him open. However, he managed to fire off a shot just as the beast bellowed once more, the VX cartridge shooting straight into its mouth and causing it to choke.

The beast fell to the floor with a resounding thud, its powerful forelimbs shaking uncontrollably as it gasped for air. Wildly tossing its long, coarse hair as it struggled through the seizures the nerve agent caused, the werewolf gave one final shudder before lying still. Caroline watched as the creature's dark eyes glazed over, triumphantly acknowledging, "Looks like your theory worked."

Klaus collapsed next to the creature, his gray eyes studying the motionless body with an unreadable expression on his face that reminded Caroline of his bizarre actions. She angrily crossed her arms, her tone accusing as she asked, "Why did you stop me, Klaus? Why did you have to be the one to shoot it?"

His silence stretched uncomfortably between them until he finally looked at her, the sorrow in his voice making her heart sink. "Because you never would've forgiven yourself."


	10. Chapter 10: When Her World Stopped

Author's note: Congrats to one of my fave reviewers, ilovetvd for the great guesswork! Lots of great guesses on the last chapter! This is the chapter where you learn how I came up with the title of this work...

Also, I sent my muse on a vacation to write Halloween drabbles for the Klaroween Bingo Event, which I posted as seven separate chapters in my short story series, _A Beautiful Symmetry_. Please send me a review if you happen to read them! Life has been unusually stressful for me lately and it was a nice break to explore some story ideas I've had for a while that I wasn't sure how to develop. This is why my multi-chaps have been on a brief hiatus.

* * *

 _Defeat could be read in every line of his body_. Caroline recoiled from the desolation she saw in Klaus' gaze. He'd told her, _Because you never would've forgiven yourself_. "What the fuck does that mean," she asked, glaring at him as her thoughts raced. Klaus had stopped her from killing the werewolf — and then killed it himself. _What the hell was going on?_

Klaus heaved a great sigh, his gaze reluctantly sliding to the werewolf's corpse. "One of our military contracts expected us to build a better soldier. Our lab was told the werewolves were cryptids that our recon teams captured in Greece. The theory was that it would be easier to start with DNA that already possessed superior strength and endurance. At least, that's what we were told."

"I don't understand — so the werewolves weren't captured in Greece? What does that matter," Caroline asked in confusion.

Shaking his head, he explained, "The werewolves weren't captured _anywhere_ , Caroline. They were created in this lab by experimenting on two human subjects."

"What?!" She felt sick at Klaus' words as unwelcome memories of a mission long ago suddenly flooded her thoughts.

 _The wind whipped the red sand across Caroline's cheeks, stinging her sweat-soaked flesh as she signaled Bonnie and Enzo across the jagged rock formation. See the blue mist on the mountain peak. She repeated her training mantra until she felt focused, carefully positioning her sniper rifle on the charismatic cult leader, Markos. As she squeezed the trigger, she felt a particular sense of satisfaction when her bullet took off the top of his head_.

 _At Caroline's signaling shot, Katherine took out the remaining council members, ending the dangerous cult known as the_ Travelers _. Caroline's elite task force had been charged with completely destroying them, a directive in which she took considerable satisfaction once she learned the truth about the cult's true mission._

 _The Travelers had recruited a substantial number of twins, triplets and even quadruplets as their followers, pretending that they believed multiple births to be a sign of divinity. However, Caroline's team received intelligence that horrific human experimentation was taking place at the Travelers' compound, hidden in a desolate cavern within the Southwestern U.S._

 _Markos had the insane idea that people who originated from multiple births held the key to immortality in their DNA and convinced several scientists to perform experiments that were nothing more than sadistic torture._

 _It was difficult to keep up her masklike detachment when she and Kol breached the filthy exam room where the cult's scientists had several people strapped to folding tables. Kol held the scientist they'd discovered at gunpoint while Caroline freed the terrified victims. It was clear they'd been confined in this small room for weeks, and the stench of unwashed bodies was so strong she had to breathe through her mouth to keep her eyes from watering._

 _The rough fibers from the rope had crudely cut into their wrists and ankles, and their painful moans as she sliced through their bindings with her serrated combat knife made her hands tremble. She set her jaw, determined to remain in control despite the rage she felt as she saw the numerous bruises and infected incisions from the vile scientists' 'experiments'._

 _As Bonnie led the victims out of the room, the scientist became enraged, shouting, "They're experiments_ _— my experiments!"_

 _"Those are people," Caroline snarled, "and you took away their freedom."_

 _His eyes were wild as he screeched, "They aren't people! They were useless until my science gave them purpose!"_

 _The angry rush of blood in her ears blocked out everything except the whisper of her bullet as it zipped through the barrel, piercing the monster through the eye before exiting the back of the skull, putting an end to the untold atrocities committed there._

Klaus broke through her disturbing memories as he explained, "When I looked through Stefan's files, I realized why he'd tried to block my access — he engineered these creatures. He used complex gene therapy to alter the human test subjects' DNA. Stefan turned them into werewolves."

Blue eyes widening in shock, Caroline's thoughts raced as she tried to understand. Her baby brother was responsible for all of this? _Why would he lie to her about where the werewolves came from?_ Her voice was harsh as she barked, "And he found two people to just volunteer for this shit? Who the fuck would agree to this?"

Her heart sank when she saw his pained expression. "It doesn't appear that they were given a choice, sweetheart. I came across the test subjects' files that Stefan had encrypted, and based on the lab notes, it appears he'd been monitoring them for a while before marking them as viable candidates."

 _Stefan was torturing people_. She closed her eyes, needing a moment to let that sink in. Feeling her knees start to buckle, she collapsed to the concrete floor, only a few feet away from the fallen creature. Wrapping her arms protectively around herself, she asked bitterly, "Who were they? I want to know the names of the poor people whose lives my brother stole."

Klaus hesitated, glancing at the monster sadly. "Caroline, this was your father."

"No! You're wrong," she swore, shaking her head fiercely. "Stefan would never —"

His voice was soft but reflected that steel spine she'd come to admire as he interrupted her. "After what I've learned, it turns out there's a great many things that your brother is capable of. Things I wish you didn't have to know."

"Prove it," she responded, her voice hollow.

With a heavy sigh, he grasped a small device that looked like a metal detector, holding it over the creature's neck until the laptop behind him beeped. "They were injected with ID tags. Here's the corresponding subject profile from Stefan's notes."

She blinked back a sheen of tears that threatened her vision as her father's face appeared on the screen. Despite the fact that it had been decades since she'd seen him, Caroline recognized so much of herself in his face that it was painful. The same look in the eyes that had seen too much, the slight curve of the lips that indicated confidence bordering on cockiness — it was all there in excruciating detail. As much anger as she'd carried toward her father for most of her life, it ached to know there would never be a chance for them to reconcile. She glanced to the side of the screen where notes had been typed, mostly observational in nature, they tracked behavioral patterns, feeding schedules and biochemical readings.

What struck her most was the dispassionate, wooden nature of her brother's words. This was a human being — their father, for fuck's sake — and Stefan was treating this like it was a routine lab experiment. _No wonder Stefan had discouraged her from wanting to seek out their father when this was over_.

Jerking her head up as a thought suddenly struck her, she questioned, "Who's the other werewolf?"

Klaus sighed, unable to look her in the eye as he quietly told her, "It's Damon, love. Stefan committed this atrocity against him as well."

She was startled to realize she'd already been crying, her cheeks stinging from the tears she'd silently shed. She looked around the room, desperate to focus on anything other than Klaus as she fiercely tried to get her shit together. _She couldn't have a breakdown in the field. That's not how things were done_. Despite how many times she told herself that, she found herself shaking uncontrollably, a small whine escaping her throat. _Damon. Stefan had done this to Damon._

Klaus immediately was on the floor beside her, wrapping her up in his arms as he gently rocked her. The harsh, copper scent of blood mingled with their sweat and it made her stomach turn as she realized her family had tried to kill them, and in turn, she'd shed their blood. The revelation that Damon was the remaining werewolf hurt her the most. Even with everything Damon had done, she'd stupidly thought there always was another chance for them to be a family again. And then Stefan had let her believe his cruel lies about their brother dying of a drug overdose a year ago. She'd suffered with the guilt that she hadn't been there for him, and it nearly broke her when she missed the funeral. _But now she knew the truth_.

Caroline wasn't sure how long she stayed in Klaus' arms, sinking into his reassuring warmth as she fought to understand how her world would never be the same. Taking a shuddering breath, she pulled away slightly, looking hopefully into his gray eyes filled with so much concern for her it nearly broke her heart all over again. "Can you fix this? Fix Damon, I mean," she shakily asked.

It was almost as though he'd anticipated her question from the moment he'd told her the truth. Clasping her hands in his, Klaus told her regretfully, "There's nothing of your brother's DNA left to cure. Everything he was has been stripped away and replaced by a monster."

He opened his mouth to say more, but she stopped him with a quick shake of her head. Standing up as she regained her bearings, she said firmly, "Then it's cruel to let him go on like this." Gesturing toward the SIG service pistol she'd loaned him along with the VX cartridges and tranquilizer guns, she added, "Grab your gear."

Not waiting for a response, she marched toward the mangled lab door, her voice resuming her commander's tone as she told him, "Let's finish this."


	11. Chapter 11: Monsters

Author's note: Thank you for all of your kind reviews and encouragement with this story! I love reading your theories — keep them coming! Also, thank you ilovetvd — your thoughtful review really inspired me and I came up with some added plot elements I hadn't considered before — so watch for those in the next chapter!

Warning: Violence. And death. And emotions. Lots of emotions.

* * *

When the shot rang out, Caroline froze, hating how she forgot every bit of military training she'd ever known to stop in the middle of the corridor, listening frantically. When Klaus tried to speak, she quickly shook her head, trying to concentrate. She still wasn't sure what she was hoping for in this moment of rage and pain — for Damon to finally be put down? Or, for him to escape once more? How much longer could they go on like this?

 _Stop it. You can't save everyone. Your brother is a monster_.

 _Which brother_?

She hated the bitterness of her inner thoughts, but steeled herself as she heard loud cursing followed by the unmistakable sound of the werewolf's claws scraping the floor as it retreated. She met Klaus' gaze briefly, the concern in his gray eyes making her heart stutter, and she quickly blinked back tears as she shook her head roughly. _This wasn't the time_. She promised herself to have a good breakdown once this was all over.

Klaus paused outside the battered main door to the northeast office, visibly wincing at the deep gouges Damon's claws had scored into the thick metal. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, silently communicating his support as they cautiously stepped into the room. The familiar sight of the short-barreled submachine guns briefly trained on their entrance soothed her, and she acknowledged both Bonnie and Kol with a short nod, not bothering to look at Stefan when he said her name with a sigh of relief. From a cursory evaluation of her team, both were visibly tired, but devoid of major injuries. While she was pleased to see them unharmed, now wasn't the time to let down her guard. _Not when she was so close to breaking_.

Head held high, her tone was authoritative as she commanded her team, "Report."

As though picking up on her distress, Kol's voice was tight with tension as he explained, "I arrived with Stefan in time to aid Bonnie in fighting off the werewolf. It had breached the main door to the office, but I got off a shot of the nerve agent in its direction, causing it to temporarily flee. Unfortunately, no direct hit. I've no doubt it will return before too long."

Tapping her earpiece, Caroline announced, "Fearless, online. I'm with Spell Slinger and Mischief Maker in the northeast office of the first floor along with two civilians. One creature retreated and Spell Slinger is no longer in danger. The other creature was eliminated by a civilian using a nerve agent called _VX_."

She swallowed the tremor that made her words want to break when she delivered news of her father's death. She and her team didn't have secrets from each other, but she couldn't do what needed to be done if she'd given voice to the awful truths she'd just learned. "We'll join you at the rendezvous point shortly once we've finished up here."

Katherine's reply was brief, but she too seemed to detect Caroline's underlying anxiety as her team's captain told her, "Understood. I'll initiate White Oak Protocol."

As the communication ended, Stefan rushed at Klaus, bellowing, "You stupid son of a bitch! What the fuck were you thinking, destroying one of our specimens?! Of all the reckless, useless things you've done —"

"Enough," Caroline growled, putting herself between her brother and Klaus, pleased to see that whatever Stefan read in her menacing glare had him back off immediately. She faced Kol and Bonnie, doing her best to remain calm as she told them in a voice threaded with steel, "Give me and Stefan the room."

She noticed that Klaus and Kol wore the same concerned look on their faces as they filed out after Bonnie, glancing back over their shoulders at her before taking the stairs to the lower level that the office overlooked. Once she and Stefan were alone, Caroline ripped out her earpiece, hurling it across the room and feeling a small sense of satisfaction at the broken crackling noise it made as it bounced off the far wall. _Everything was broken_.

"I don't understand why you're bent out of shape here, Caroline," Stefan snapped at her, fists balled up in anger. "If anyone should be pissed, it should be me — my idiot sister apparently just stood by and let millions of dollars' worth of research be destroyed!"

She impatiently pushed her hair away from her face, the blood on her hands momentarily distracting her as she wondered if it was hers, or Klaus', or one of the creatures'. _Creatures. Her father. Her brother_. Which one had attacked her? Had she stabbed and shot at both of them? Just one repeatedly? They were answers she'd never have. _But that wouldn't stop her from wondering for the rest of her life_.

"I know what you've done, Stefan," she finally confronted him, proud of the way her voice didn't waver despite her heightened emotions.

"What have _I_ done? I serve _science_ , Caroline. Not some mythical moral code you and your toy soldiers like to hide behind whenever it's convenient. Those were _my_ experiments! Mine, damn it! And Klaus had no right to —"

Stefan's flippant attitude was her undoing and she quickly cut him off with a snarl, " _You_ had no right! Those creatures weren't experiments; they were our father and brother. You did that to _our blood_ , Stefan!"

His brown eyes were crazed as he boasted, "They weren't our family, Caroline! They were useless until I came along and gave them purpose. They finally contributed something to society because of me!"

Caroline looked at him in disbelief. _How could her brother believe these terrible things?_ She couldn't reconcile who she thought her brother was with what she saw now. Her voice was cold as she told him, "Regardless of who they were to us, they're still people. And you took away their choices."

Before she could continue, vicious snarling caught her attention, and her heart began to pound as she watched the creature Damon had been turned into suddenly burst through the door on the lower level. To her team's credit, they sprang into action, covering Klaus as they fended off the beast, but Bonnie wasn't fast enough to dodge the fourth swipe of those powerful claws, and she was swept to the side with enough force to leave her temporarily dazed.

Kol quickly fired, the nerve agent burying itself into the beast's cheek, causing it to rear up and violently snap its jaws at Kol, who cursed as he rolled away. Klaus found himself cornered, and while he raised his gun, Caroline was afraid the werewolf would overtake him before he could fire a shot. She didn't have enough time to race downstairs and realized what she had to do. She briefly touched the large glass window that overlooked the lower level, judging that one sharp kick would shatter it with minimal projectiles.

As though realizing what she intended to do, Stefan quickly grabbed her arm, trying but failing to get her to face him. "No! Don't you dare," he angrily hissed.

Her body reacted on instinct, snapping back her elbow directly into Stefan's nose, causing him to let go as the blood spurted. Not bothering to glance back at her brother who continued to curse her, she delivered a roundhouse kick that shattered the window and caused Damon to stop advancing on Klaus long enough to bellow in her direction.

In that split second, she searched the beast's dark eyes, desperately looking for signs of humanity. _Searching for Damon_. But all that remained was a monster and if she didn't stop him, he'd kill Klaus. Already, she saw the way its muscles bunched, ready to attack. She took a calming breath, repeating her killshot mantra: _See the blue mist on the mountain peak._ Her arm was steady as she raised the gun, squeezing the trigger to launch the VX cartridge.

The nerve agent pierced the werewolf's eye, blood and viscous fluid immediately pouring from the ruined socket. The creature let out a final, plaintive roar as it collapsed to the concrete floor, muscles seizing as it gasped for air. _Goodbye, brother_.

Swallowing back a sob, Caroline raced downstairs, no clear plan in mind as she stumbled onto the lower level. Kol and Bonnie had positioned themselves on either side of the fallen monster, ensuring it was dead. She noticed their body language remained tense, as though they knew the real danger hadn't passed. Klaus reached for her, and she willingly let him sweep her into his arms as she breathed in his comforting smell underneath the sweat and fear that hung heavily in the air.

"What did you do?! Goddamn it, Caroline," Stefan screeched, stomping into the room as he pushed her out of Klaus' embrace. As her team started to step forward to deal with her brother, she sternly shook her head, signaling them to remain where they were. _This was her fight_.

"Your sister saved all of us, you ungrateful prick," Klaus shouted, still a bit unsteady on his feet as he leaned against the wall for support.

"What she did was set back my research for decades," he hissed, "my father and brother were wastes of space and a drain on society!" Jabbing a finger in Klaus' direction, he told Caroline, "It's easy to find second-rate geneticists like Klaus, but it will take me _years_ to find viable specimens to recreate this experiment!"

Bonnie and Kol's stoic expressions remained unchanged; Stefan's revelation about the werewolves' origins not causing a flicker of emotion as they maintained their positions. _They were waiting for Caroline to choose_. She briefly closed her eyes, summoning what remained of her strength. _See the blue mist on the mountain peak._ Her reflexes were almost imperceptible to the untrained eye as she tugged on the canvas strap across her shoulder, whipping up the barrel of her submachine gun. The sharp crack filled the room, her body absorbing the familiar recoil as she watched the bullets hit their target. _Her brother_.

Caroline finally allowed her knees buckle under her, weapons slipping from her grasp as she fell in a heap. As the tears began to fall and sobs shook her body, she still couldn't give voice to her despair. Betrayal was etched on Stefan's face, his brown eyes flat as his life drained away. _She'd betrayed her baby brother. And he'd betrayed their blood_.

Damon was crumpled across the room, the beast's jaws open wide as though still gasping for air. _She'd done that to him. Her brothers were dead by her hand_.

She felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder, and she looked up through her tears to find Klaus kneeling beside her, murmuring words of comfort that she wasn't quite ready to hear.

 _She found herself wondering where they went from here_.


	12. Chapter 12: Mysterious Rituals

Author's note: This is our final chapter for this story. We'll wrap up the plot to this story with hints of what the future may bring for Klaroline. Thank you for all of your kind words and sending me your guesses about where the story was headed — your patience and your support as I wrote my first science fiction multi-chap mean SO much! You guys kept me motivated to put my writing out here. :)

Also, thanks to your interest and requests about my other stories, I've expanded one of my ghost stories from Klaroween and created a multi-chap Klaroline story, _Ghostly Secrets_. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Warning: A tiny bit of smut!

* * *

 **One year later**

 _Fitting that they'd journeyed to a place of mysterious rituals to perform one of their own._ The ancient Greek region of Arcadia beckoned to them, with Mt. Lykaion long-held in folklore as the birthplace of Zeus. The ancient Greeks believed it to be a divine place, their rituals shrouded in mystery. Of all the times Caroline had stood on Mt. Lykaion in her lifetime, this was the first moment in ages she'd felt at peace. _While the ethereal beauty of the dark blue petals of the wild lupines certainly fueled her mood, she knew it had more to do with who was standing next to her_. Klaus surveyed the breathtaking view, a look of awe gracing his handsome face.

It had been a year since the terrible events that happened in the hidden research lab. Caroline's team admirably had handled the aftermath, with Katherine initiating White Oak Protocol. While Enzo and Bonnie monitored the surviving civilians at the transport, Kol disposed of the bodies using liquid nitrogen and a series of strategically placed microscopic bombs that disintegrated the remains. Caroline and Katherine identified structurally significant beams on every other floor and planted bis-oxadiazole-fueled explosives. After Kol helped Klaus ensure all sensitive data had been erased, the group evacuated the facility and activated the bombs. Watching its destruction had been strangely cathartic for Caroline. _Just as it had been for Klaus_.

He'd been understandably quiet during the debriefing with the other surviving civilians. As part of White Oak Protocol, the information the civilians were given was strictly need-to-know, and they were told that Stefan was a casualty of the final battle with the creatures. While Caroline and Kol could vouch for Klaus' trustworthiness, the remaining survivors underwent psychological evaluation and then those who wished to continue their work in research were placed in secure facilities of their choosing. So far, intelligence briefings indicated that the civilians understood what was at stake and had no interest in talking about their time in the remote lab.

As for Klaus, it was as though new life had been breathed into him, and he declared he was finished with government research, instead preferring to spend his time in the private sector, where he felt he could do more. He was energized and always seemed on the verge of another scientific breakthrough, and it was a pleasure to see him excited for the future.

 _Their future_. Despite Caroline and Klaus never truly defining what it was between them, there was an unspoken acknowledgement that it was _something_. _Something incredible_ , she inwardly thought with a smile. While her work with the Hunters kept her busy exploring the world, she convinced her special forces unit to scale back their activities. This gave her the opportunity to _explore_ things with Klaus.

Whenever she thought back to how close they'd become, her chest fluttered pleasantly and she couldn't stop grinning like a lunatic. Klaus gave her butterflies. _Actual fucking butterflies_. And whenever she wasn't off prowling sweltering jungles to wipe out dictators or freezing in remote mountain villages to take out human traffickers, she was with Klaus. They'd 'go off the grid', refusing to answer their phones or emails, getting completely wrapped up in each other until it was difficult to recall there was a world outside of their cozy little bubble.

But that wasn't to say that all of their time started and stopped in the bedroom — in fact, Klaus had shown an interest in some of Caroline's hobbies, so she'd started teaching him krav maga, rock climbing and fencing. After an initial shaky start, his strength and agility quickly had improved, and he even bested her a few times.

When they were apart, they still managed to keep up a wildly inventive sex life via webcam. Klaus was insatiable, and that nearly feral gleam he'd get in his eyes during their trysts made her pulse race just thinking about it.

 _The last time they'd engaged in a spicy webcam session, Klaus was wearing a naughty smirk and nothing else while that scandalous silver tongue of his had somehow convinced her to smear her camo face paint all over her bare breasts. "Tug on those pretty nipples, love," he purred, running the tip of his tongue over his lips as he watched her._

 _Caroline barely held back a whine at the feel of her fingers, desperately wishing they were Klaus'. Panting, she commanded, "Stroke your cock faster. I want to see you come." She loved the way his jaw tightened at her order and the delicious slap of his flesh as he increased the tempo made her vibrate with need. If he didn't tell her to slip her fingers in soon, she was going to do it anyway._

 _She slowly inched her hand in that direction, when suddenly the alert system sounded on her tablet and Kol's face filled the screen. "Commander, Kat wrapped up the Ascendant Operation ahead of schedule and wanted to see if you'd be up for a detour to the Maldives to check out that beach that glows in the dark."_

 _Caroline blinked, trying to judge if the angle of her tablet screen was high enough to avoid her loud-mouth officer getting an eyeful of her paint-smeared nipples. Based on his raised eyebrow, it appeared she wasn't so lucky. "No, I'm good here," she answered hastily, trying to decide whether it would call more attention to her nudity if she crossed her arms._

 _"Right," he said with a mock salute, "do carry on then." Raising his voice a bit, he called out, "Well done, brother. I'd no idea you were such a finger-painting enthusiast."_

Caroline shook her head briefly, realizing now wasn't the time to think about that. _Especially considering what they were there to do_. She sat down on the edge of a large, flat rock and patted a place next to her for Klaus to sit. As he moved next to her, she couldn't help but admire his beautifully sculpted body. The simple blue t-shirt he wore revealed his powerful forearms, surprisingly unmarred after the werewolves had clawed his flesh. She hadn't been as lucky — she still bore a long scar down part of her Hunter's mark tattoo and puncture marks on her shoulder where the monsters had attacked her. _The monsters_. _Her father and Damon_.

They'd traveled to Mt. Lykaion to scatter her father and Damon's ashes. _But not Stefan's_. The thought of releasing her brother's ashes on the mountain where she'd felt such a connection to the world around her felt _wrong_. Maybe some part of her believed that Stefan didn't deserve peace the way that Damon and their father did. His betrayal still stung, and she wondered if she'd ever be ready to move past the terrible things he'd done to their family.

She realized she'd been staring off into space, her gaze hard as she recalled how Stefan's selfish ambitions consumed him to the point that he took away their father and brother's choice. _Their humanity_.

A stray chunk of limestone went sailing past her line of sight, interrupting her dark thoughts. As Klaus aimlessly threw another rock into the distance, he told her, "I've had time to look over Stefan's notes. The formula he engineered was needlessly cruel. It transformed their DNA to its most primitive — all aggression and violence and instinct. He'd purposely designed it so that nothing of who they were remained."

She nodded, unwelcome tears clouding her vision and choked off any words she might've said. She rested her head on Klaus' shoulder, and as he wrapped an arm around her, she drew strength from his comforting warmth.

"Sweetheart, there was no humanity left in your father and Damon. No one would want to live like that. It's always important to remember who you are," he continued, tilting her face up to kiss her softly. "Putting them down was a mercy, but I'm sorry for all you've endured. And I swear things will be different now."

She gave him a tearful smile, her heart a bit lighter as she heard the sincerity in his tone. "Different sounds perfect."

Together, they removed the simple wooden urns from her canvas backpack, solemnly scattering her father and Damon's ashes from the mountaintop. As she watched the breeze gently carry away the last traces of her family, she sighed. "I still don't know if I'll ever be ready to bring Stefan's remains here. It's a peaceful place, and I haven't decided if he deserves peace."

Klaus' gray eyes softened in understanding. "You have plenty of time to decide, love. And I'll be by your side whatever your decision." Pulling Caroline close, he planted a reassuring kiss on top of her blonde curls.

 _As his eyes briefly darkened to a monster's black, Klaus was mindful not to hold her too tightly with his newfound strength._


End file.
